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 spine fade, mild toning, wrinkling, handling and edge wear to jacket - with chips and tears particular to spine ends and corners. Book wears light lean, shows light toning to page edges, spine ends curled and edges tips lightly touched.

Dust Jacket: 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.”