Begin Again

“Begin Again is a groundbreaking and informative guide to Baldwin and his era.”—The Washington Post   “A rugged literary miracle.”—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy “Even if you don’t agree with Glaude’s interpretations, you’ll find yourself productively arguing with them. He parses, he pronounces, he cajoles. He spurs you to revisit Baldwin’s work yourself.”—The New York Times   “Not only is Baldwin brought rushing forth from the page, with all the beauty of his prose and complexity of his thought, but Glaude’s voice joins him with a force and clarity of its own. . . . Baldwin and Glaude offer us a path forward that is both exceedingly difficult and genuinely hopeful.”—The Post and Courier “In the midst of an ugly Trump regime and a beautiful Baldwin revival, Eddie Glaude has plunged to the profound depths and [soared to the] sublime heights of Baldwin’s prophetic challenge to our present-day crisis.”—Cornel West, author of Democracy Matters and Race Matters “Begin Again is . . . a timeless and spellbinding conversation between two brilliant writers.”—Edwidge Danticat, author of Brother, I’m Dying and Everything Inside   “One need not agree with everything in these pages to learn much from them, and for Americans seeking to understand our past, our present, and the possible futures before us, Begin Again challenges, illuminates, and points us toward, if not a more perfect union, at least a more just one.”—­Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America and Destiny and Power “Glaude's work is urgent, pained, and strangely hopeful. He is issuing a call to reckoning: not just with the dishonesty of America's founding promises, but with the tolls that its intrinsic racism has taken on the artists and thinkers who have come before.”—Rebecca Traister, author of All the Single Ladies and Good and Mad “James Baldwin is a man for our moment: in a time of Black Lives Matter, we’ve come to think about our past, our colonial history, enslavement, matters of race and identity. You’re left with an understanding of the extraordinary modernity, relevance, and the immense power of James Baldwin. It’s a simply wonderful book.”—Philippe Sands, author of East West Street “The magic of Begin Again is that it allows us to ponder Baldwin both in his perilous era and in our own. Remarkable, and remarkably relevant.”—Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Life on Mars “Begin Again is an unparalleled masterpiece of social criticism. Glaude thinks alongside America’s finest essayist, matching the master’s firepower, brilliance, courage, and sensitivity at every turn.”—Imani Perry, author of Breathe and Looking for Lorraine “In this powerful and elegant book, Glaude weaves together a biography, a meditation, a literary analysis, and a moral essay on America. . . . ”—Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci