The Fire Next Time

New York: Dial Press, (1963). First edition, 1st printing. 8vo. 120 pp. Original white covered boards with beige speckle, stamped in red, in original unclipped ($3.50) dust-jacket. Some edge wear, with a few small tears, rubbing at corners and ends and smudges from handling. Some curling to spine ends. A small chip and horizontal crease to top rear panel. Toning to spine and some light toning present to flaps. Protected in archival mylar. Book is tight, square and firm. Moderate foxing to cloth panels. Light shelf wear to edges - particular to spine crown and foot. Interior clean and unmarked. Light handling wear. Mild foxing to page edges. A nice copy.

Dust Jacket: Very Good

Hardcover: Very Good

“The Fire Next Time is a 1963 non-fiction book by James Baldwin, containing two essays: "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation" and "Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind". The first essay, written in the form of a letter to Baldwin's 14-year-old nephew, discusses the central role of race in American history. The second essay, which takes up the majority of the book, deals with the relations between race and religion, focusing in particular on Baldwin's experiences with the Christian church as a youth, as well as the Islamic ideas of others in Harlem.”