Product Description
Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Kids had fun with these!
I read these stories to my 5-year-old son & my 9-year-old neice.They both loved them & wanted me to keep readingThe stories are great for teaching history for younger kids.

A family favorite
This is one of my favorite books my 6 year old and I have read. Each week we read different selections and made time line cards for school. It is a great way to introduce history to your child and yourself as well. A definite must-have for your living book collection.

An important book
This wonderful little book was first published in 1896 (at least that's the one I have). It contains fifty short stories that were originally considered indispensable for the education of truly literate and well-rounded children. The fifty stories are classics of American culture, and as such are almost completely forgotten in today's America.

The stories teach such lessons as perseverance, self-sacrifice, compassion, diligence, and much more. And they star such once-well-known people as King Alfred of Britain, Pocahontas, Sir Walter Raleigh, Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, and Socrates.

So, if you have a young person who you would like to read truly educational stories to, then you really should consider getting this book. It was an important book then, and it is an important book now. I give it my highest recommendations!

Great action book!
I was thrilled to start this book with my eight year old son. It just seems like more books are geared for girls' interests. I highly recommend it! The only bummer thing is that there is no table of contents or index so it takes a bit of thumbing through the pages to find a specific title.

Quick stories, good for bedtime
As an American, my 6 year old twins are a bit lost with some of the olde english words and sayings. I usually change the words to more modern phrases or stop and explain their meanings. Either way, they're learning and interested. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first systematic analysis of Baldwin's genetic epistemology and its relation to the contemporary social sciences. It is prepared by ten psychologists, philosophers, and educators--including Piaget, Kholberg, and Campbell--from in-depth conceptual and empirical perspectives. This volume provides a comprehensive account of Baldwin's philosophical psychology, social and cognitive developmentalism, functionalism, symbolic interactionism, idealist aesthetics, and theoretical biology. Moreover, it provides the first bibliography and commentary of his work to appear in print. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Mississippi goddam- Revisted
I have written a number of commentaries in this space on the subject of the heinous murder by "white trash", allegedly for whistling while black at a white woman, of black teenager Emmett Till down in small town Mississippi in 1955. The firestorm raised over the horrible deed, including the not guilty verdict by an all white jury, by his mother and others in the wake of the verdict did much to galvanize Northern opinion, black and white, for the then brewing black civil rights struggle that would dominate the first half of the 1960s. Mississippi put the world on notice that not only adult black men were subject to the "white is right, blacks get back" free-fire zone but black children as well.

Working such an inflammatory subject into literary form would seem to be right up the alley for one of the premier black writers of the period, James Baldwin. Moreover, unlike some of the more exclusively literary types who hibernated in New York during the Eisenhower 1950s, Baldwin was a committed and articulate advocate of black rights. And a voice for righteous black rage, although not necessarily of a revolutionary bent. Thus, when prodded by the subsequently slain Mississippi civil rights leader, Medgar Evers, to do a treatment on the Till case, Baldwin had to step up to the plate and throw some fire into the flames.

Rather than attempt a novelistic treatment which could, on reflection, diffuse the emotional impact of the subject behind much eloquent verbiage Baldwin created a three act play which, as his stage directions indicate, would do more than a novel to bring home the intense racial animosities that centuries of racial tension had engendered. Although some of the characters seem like stock figures now: the black "Uncle Toms" who smoothed the way for the white power structure; the "white trash" who had no stake in the society except not to be, mercifully, black; the uppity black "agitator" who had been to the North and learned Northern de facto segregation ways there which provided just a little more elbow room if no less danger; the black clergy preaching, ever preaching, forbearance; the thoughtful black woman who knows that the life expectancy of a black man, and hence part of her happiness can sometimes be counted in days; and, the sympathetic "liberal" white Southern who also held the system together by not going beyond well defined bounds that would upset his fellow whites, in high place and low.

Hey, we all know what the jury verdict was in the Till case. We also know even before turning the first page of this play what the verdict will be in the death of the black man by a white in this case , modeled as it is on the Till case. We also know this, that over fifty years after the event been no real justice in the Till case. We know as well that James Baldwin, if he were alive today, might very well still be able to write about some current Till case. And, finally, we know this anytime the racial question in Mississippi in the 1950s and 1960s, or later, came up- Nina Simone may have said it more lyrically than Baldwin, perhaps, but they both make the same point. Mississippi goddam.

A Strong Commentary of Racial Relations of the 1960s
James Baldwin, an American literary juggernaut, has plowed over his readership, and the modern American theater as well, with this successful attempt at playwriting. Set in the civil rights hayday in a southern everytown, Baldwin introduces readers to a cast of characters that all firmly believe themselves right in a world that couldn't be any more wrong.

In addition to pointient dialouge, Baldwin also uses the stage to make his point, segregating the set into blacktown and whitetown with only a communistic journalist regularly breaking the barrier. This play successfully encapsulates the climate of the American civil rights era south in much the same way that history books such as "Common Ground" grasp the life of the north of the same period.

How racism obstructs justice
James Baldwin's best known play, known as a protest drama, Blues for Mister Charlie, is included in the Best American Plays 6th Series (1963-67) Baldwin said it is based distantly on the true story ofa Mississippii youth, Emmett Till in 1955, who was murdered for whistling at a white woman.

The three act play has two sets, the Negro church and the courthouse and in the church setting is a division of characters in Whitetown and Blacktown.Mister Charlie is pseudo for all white men.The lengthy play does go into flashback, so it is important to spot when the flashbacks occur. And one important flashback is the real account of the murder that took place.

The opening begins as The black Reverend Meridian discusses whether anybody will be arrested for his son Richard's murder.Lyle, a racist bigot, is accused of the murder. Parnell, also white, is a longtime friend of Lyle.Parnell is also a good friend of all the black folk.This relationship plays a large role.

The play then shifts to Whitetown where we learn who storekeeper Lyle and his wife Jo are. Here, Lyle tries to get Parnell to believe him that he didn't kill anyone Lyle is adamant that he will never be convicted.We learn that Lyle has killed a black man before.It is said that Lyle was having an affair with an old black man's young wife.

Then, the captivating courtroom dialogue, written with interspersed commentary from the Whitetown and Blacktown and some flashbacks.

If you are familiar with the works of Baldwin, you will recognize the preacher in him.His father was a preacher.Baldwin through Rev Meridian has a powerful memorable monologue at the pulpit.In this play, one gets a true understanding of racism against blacks and whites and how justice is obstructed through racism.
........MzRizz

searing
biting and searing
written in 1964
if you're white--its an angry eye opener

Blues for Ms. Tiffany!
I have just finished this book, and I am sorry it has taken me so long to pick it up. You start reading and you almost forget it is a play! There is a lesson to be taught in this book, and one to be learned when finished. It shows more than one reality of living in the south back in this time. There was racism, there was tolerance,there was love and there was always turmoil! A battle to do the right thing and even the wrong!. We are all a product of our surroundings but we can also try to change that, and sometimes the cost of not "wanting things to be the way they have always been" is too much for any one person. It made me sad, (hence my blues!) but I came away with a little extra something. Please read this book! ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
From Frederick Douglass to the present, the preoccupation of black writers with manhood and masculinity has been constant. Black Manhood in James Baldwin, Ernest J. Gaines, and August Wilson explores how in their own work three major African American writers contest classic portrayals of black men in earlier literature, from slave narratives through the great novels of Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison. Keith Clark examines short stories, novels, and plays by Baldwin, Gaines, and Wilson, arguing that since the 1950s the three have interrupted and radically dismantled the constricting literary depictions of black men who equate selfhood with victimization, isolation, and patriarchy. Instead, they have reimagined black men whose identity is grounded in community, camaraderie, and intimacy.Delivering original and startling insights, this book will appeal to scholars and students of African American literature, gender studies, and narratology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Glad I picked this one up.
I had the honor of having Dr. Clark as a professor at George Mason University.What seperates his work from a lot of others is that he just doesn't argue his point but shares it with you and challenges you to use your mind and think.A great read. ... Read more

Product Description
Hero Tales is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by James Baldwin is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of James Baldwin then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic book!
Just a brilliant look at four black artists who escaped the racism of the U.S. to live and work in Paris. Very interesting? ... Read more

Product Description
James Baldwin (1841-1925) was an American editor and author. Largely self-educated, he began teaching at the age of 24. In addition to editing school books, he started writing books of his own. After the publication in 1882 of The Story of Siegfried, he went on to write more than 50 others. At one time it was estimated that of all the school books in use in the United States, over half had been written or edited by him. He is best remembered for the books of introductory historical sketches he wrote for younger students and his retellings of the legends of heroes for older students. Other works include: The Story of Roland (1883), A Story of the Golden Age (1887), Old Greek Stories (1895), Fifty Famous Stories Retold (1896), Four Great Americans (1897), Hero Tales (1904), Fifty Famous People (1912) and In My Youth (1914). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

gossipy...
Funnyhow many biographies you have to read of someone to get any reasonably rounded sense of his or her life.James Campbell's has the most detailed analysis of Baldwin's writing (though like many critics he disparages Baldwin's excellent later novels) but Campbell pulls back from Baldwin as a gay man; reading Talking At The Gates one would think he never had a sexual/romantic relationship after his unrequited crush on Lucien Happesburger. W J Wetherby's biography, the subject of this review, though clumsy on the psychology and weak on the literary analysis, is gossipy and vividly evokes Baldwin's tempestuous bohemian personal life, and is worth reading for that reason.It returns one to Baldwin's humanity in all its flaws, and does not, I think, diminish him in doing so.The other Baldwin biog I've read, by David Leeming, is rather po-faced and dull, but worth a look for the last section leading up to Baldwin's death, for which Leeming was, as Mr Baldwin might say, a witness.But really, you have to read all three to get a single decent 'life' out of them. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description
This is a biography of James Baldwin, author, one-time preacher and civil rights activist. He chose David Leeming, a close friend and colleague, to write his biography and granted him access to his correspondence. Leeming traces his life from his birth in Harlem in 1924, his self-imposed exile in Europe, his later years as political activist to his public funeral in 1987. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Literary Gentleman
I read the bio of James Baldwin and its an excellent read very much worth your time but I wish and I hope someone like Arnold Rampersad would write an in depth literary biograpy on Mr.Baldwin like he done for Langston Hughes,and Ralph Ellison.

A MASTERFUL PORTRAIT OF AN ENIGMATIC GENIUS

His stepfather made fun of his eyes, and called him "the ugliest child he had ever seen."This was a two-pronged insult because James Baldwin had his mother's eyes.

As long as he lived, Baldwin would retell an incident related to that memory that he said changed the course of his life.When he was perhaps five or six-years-old, he was amazed to see on the street an old woman with large eyes and lips.He ran upstairs, called his mother to the window, and said, "You see?You see?She's uglier than you, Mama!She's uglier than me!"

The significant aspect of seeing that face on the street would take Baldwin many years to articulate.He learned that his physical appearance did not necessarily have an effect on what he would do in life, "that if his mother was `ugly," then even ugliness could be beautiful."

And this unattractive, intellectually precocious boy became the man who would write like no other, chronicling America in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.He gave us the novels "Go Tell It On The Mountain," "Giovanni's Room," and "Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone."

Baldwin used to say to white audiences, "I've been here for 350 years and you've never seen me."That sense of alienation is evoked in the titles of his collections of essays, "Nobody Knows My Name" and "No Name in the Street."Undoubtedly, students of sociology yet unborn will pore over these words to better understand America in the 20th century.

Other biographies have been written about James Baldwin - none as personal, revealing and poignant as this.David Leeming, Baldwin's associate for four years and friend for a quarter of a century has produced a masterful portrait of one of our country's most enigmatic geniuses.

- Gail Cooke

Baldwin fan? Read this for the info., not the writing.
I haven't read many biographies, but I have read lots of Baldwin -- both essays and novels. I came away from this book wishing that it was as compelling as its subject -- that Leeming had contributed his insights to the efforts of a writer closer to Baldwin's caliber -- and that the book had the benefit of a better editor. There is a sense that perhaps Leeming reveres Baldwin a bit too much. It's hard to communicate a true sense of intimacy with your subject when he's so high up on a pedestal! Overall, a disappointment. ... Read more

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A Book for Young Americans. ... Read more

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Quality Classics

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Depicts the environment and daily life of two boys coming of age in Harlem. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

important work
James Baldwin continues his masterful storytelling in Little Man, his only book for children. This text deserves more attention and is a must read for Baldwin fans.

defines the perception of a child
Little man, little man, actually took me a while to read.The language in the book can be confusing and often times the reader is unaware of what the author (James Baldwin) is talking about.The book does get better as it progesses and the end is somewhat suprising...I promise.I recommend reading this book for leisure and not for a book report (you would have a hard time writing about it).Hope I helped. ... Read more

Product Description
With contributions from major scholars of African American literature, history, and cultural studies, A Historical Guide to James Baldwin focuses on the four tumultous decades that defined the great author's life and art. Providing a comprehensive examination of Baldwin's varied body of work that includes short stories, novels, and polemical essays, this collection reflects the major events that left an indelible imprint on the iconic writer: civil rights, black nationalism and the struggle for gay rights in the pre- and post-Stonewall eras. The essays also highlight Baldwin's under-studied role as a trans-Atlantic writer, his lifelong struggle with faith, and his use of music, especially the blues, as a key to unlock the mysteries of his identity as an exile, an artist, and a black American in a racially hostile era. ... Read more