Review: The Fire Next Time

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

2 Peter 3: 5-7:

For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

From this New Testament qualification to God's Old Testament promise to Noah comes the implied threat in Baldwin's title. Such a dire prophecy fits with the historically interesting recollection of Baldwin's meetings with Elijah Muhammad and his Nation of Islam followers.

The real core of this book, though, is the examination of the formative times of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a deep, philosophical consideration examination of the consequences of racial injustice. This work, which The New York Times Book Review described as "sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle...all presented in searing, brilliant prose," is a compelling and forceful classic of American literature which is almost disturbing in the way it still feels accurate in describing the plight of non-White Americans seeking integration and control of their own destinies.

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