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Go Tell It to the Mountain and Related Readings

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This is not the novel but a source book of actiities for this title and related readings. Again thisi is not the novel.

59 pages, Paperback

Published May 3, 1998

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About the author

James Baldwin

365 books16.5k followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Works of American writer James Arthur Baldwin, outspoken critic of racism, include Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), a novel, and Notes of a Native Son (1955), a collection of essays.

James Arthur Baldwin authored plays and poems in society.

He came as the eldest of nine children; his stepfather served as a minister. At 14 years of age in 1938, Baldwin preached at the small fireside Pentecostal church in Harlem. From religion in the early 1940s, he transferred his faith to literature with the still evident impassioned cadences of black churches. From 1948, Baldwin made his home primarily in the south of France but often returned to the United States of America to lecture or to teach.

In his Giovanni's Room, a white American expatriate must come to terms with his homosexuality. In 1957, he began spending half of each year in city of New York.

James Baldwin offered a vital literary voice during the era of civil rights activism in the 1950s and 1960s.
He first partially autobiographically accounted his youth. His influential Nobody Knows My Name and The Fire Next Time informed a large white audience. Another Country talks about gay sexual tensions among intellectuals of New York. Segments of the black nationalist community savaged his gay themes. Eldridge Cleaver of the Black Panthers stated the Baldwin displayed an "agonizing, total hatred of blacks." People produced Blues for Mister Charlie , play of Baldwin, in 1964. Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, defended Baldwin.

Going to Meet the Man and Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone provided powerful descriptions. He as an openly gay man increasingly in condemned discrimination against lesbian persons.

From stomach cancer, Baldwin died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. People buried his body at the Ferncliff cemetery in Hartsdale near city of New York.

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
9 reviews
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June 9, 2014
James Baldwins' Go Tell it to the Mountain enthralled me with its unique use of storytelling and character development. Baldwin wrote this as a semi autobiography of his life. The book entails why his father Gabriel seemed to be more distant to home than his other son. I really enjoyed reading this piece of american literature.

The theme of Go Tell it to a Mountain to me is that you should never try to change yourself for anyone. His "father" Gabriel was always colder to James so he would try his best to impress him. He goes even as far as trying to bond with him over being touched by the holy ghost. You can't really understand why hes so bitter until its revealed that James is not actually his son. You should never have to change who you are to please someone else.

Baldwin makes the characters come to life with his vivid detailing, even though its based on real people without his expertise of writing they would feel flat. He made it really easy for me to relate to himself because I sometimes feel like i try so hard to try and make someone apart of my life but if they are closed off to the idea it wont work. He also made it really easy to dislike Gabriel because besides not treating James well he also had an affair on his first wife and had an illegitimate child.

I could relate to the setting a lot, This is for two reasons. Firstly since its held in Brooklyn, I have been to there just recently with my brother and the way he describes it you can tell its the same place. The second reason is that he is African American in a time where equal right weren't fully established yet. The only reason i can relate is that even today people can be cruel and quite racist.

Go Tell it to the Mountain have five parts for the most part depicting the inner thoughts and flashbacks of different characters. This book shows the struggle and inner battles people have with themselves every day. It mostly follows the boy James and how he is a good kid but all he wants is to impress his father but its harder than it seems because he seems to be hiding something from him.

I would recommended this book to every one that enjoys a good story about segregation and american every day life as well as struggles. Baldwin really wrote from the heart on this one because he had the experiences of living through this time period himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lesley Townsend.
19 reviews2 followers
May 18, 2013
A fascinating insight into the early life of the author showing the frustrations of the artist/writer in a constricted society. This book is more about the dangers of organised religion than race which surprised me. Fathers and sons, unempowered women, violence and love are just some of the themes. Poetically and beautifully written and heartbreakingly poignant knowing it is based on real life. Definitely a book I will return to.
Profile Image for Dan.
177 reviews3 followers
September 26, 2013
I very much liked the writing and the parts of the book that dealt with the lives of the characters, but the amount of time spent on the power of religion, the workings of the church, and all that kind of stuff turned me off. That said, I plan to read more of his books soon.
Profile Image for John.
83 reviews20 followers
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August 23, 2017
brilliant as far as I can remember a long time ago
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