Reviews for Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin

The average rating for Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-07-20 00:00:00 Thomas Kordick James Baldwin is one of those authors who grabs me from the beginning of his stories. His writing is artistic, beautiful and forthright. Even during the time of the civil rights movement where it was difficult enough to be a black man in this country, he wrote of being a black homosexual man. Baldwin never went to college, but was given an honorary degree in 1964 from the State University of New York (SUNY) at City of New York. His book, Giovanni's Room, talked about the young homosexual Giovanni, one of the first of Baldwin's many books that discussed societal difficulties. I have read most of his books and two biographies. He was a fascinating man.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-08-12 00:00:00 Thomas J Hawkins A little redundant at times (how many times do we need to read the number of pages the FBI had on Baldwin?). Although there isn't much on his early life, his personal life really comes through in the discussion of his work, in this way the reader really does get a good feeling for the kind of person Baldwin was in the different phases of his life and his contribution to American literature and culture. It ends in a heartbreakingly intimate way that I'm not sure is consistent with the work as whole but it definitely conveys Campbell's feelings about the author and relates how thoroughly Baldwin's unique fire, passion, humanity and warmth still touches his readers and admirers.