About this title: This story of a man living every day in fear of his life for simply being black is as powerful today as it was when it was first published in 1947. The novel takes place in the space of four days in the life of Bob Jones, a black man who is constantly plagued by the effects of racism. Living in a society that is drenched in race consciousness ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Binding: Softcover--Good
Publisher: Signet / NAL, New York
Date Published: 1971
Description: Good. No Jacket. Mass Market Fiction Fiction: A mass market paperback reprint of a 1945 novel about a young black man who discovers that racism pits the black world against the white world leaving nowhere to hide. In good condition. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press, New York
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9781560250975ISBN:1560250976
Description: Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. ix, 203 pp.; 21 cm. First published, 1945. Good+. Tight, clean text. Remainder marks/tail edge. Age toning. African-American author's first novel. "This story of a man living every day in fear of his life for simply being black is as powerful today as it was when it was first published in [1945]. The novel takes place in the space of four days in the life of Bob Jones, a black man who is constantly plagued by the effects of racism. Living in a society that is ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9781560254454ISBN:1560254459
Description: Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dustcover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "from the library of" labels. ******PLEASE NOTE****** Orders placed after Dec. 7 cannot be guaranteed delivery before Christmas unless you select EXPEDITED shipping! Thank you & Happy Holidays! read more
Description: Very Good. GREAT BOOK GREAT READ! VERY GOOD CONDITION-TRADE PAPERBACK. PAGES CLEAN, HAS COVER AND EDGE WEAR, TIGHT BINDING. NOT AN EX LIBRARY. WE SHIP FAST AND ALWAYS WELL PACKED! THANK YOU. read more
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. Book is in excellent condition. Cover and pages are clean, binding is tight. We ship daily, Satisfaction Guaranteed. read more
Edition: First Printing
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group, New York
Date Published: 1955
Description: Fair. No Jacket. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Berkley Books #G-6. Considerable wear to book, soiling, edge wear, small tears, spine slightly cocked. Front hinge loose. Closer to a reading copy, complete with clean pages. read more
Description: Thunder Mouth, 1992, later printing, SOFTCOVER, 8-1/2X5-1/2"; Light wear to cover edges, light underlining and marginalia, pages bright, a solid copy, GOOD+. Still a nice copy you will be happy to own! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very good. Berkley Medallion 1964 paperback edition-Light wear on cover/spine, clean and tight pages-very nice-Please see our Feedback! read more
Description: Reader copy; Collectible. 1959 FIRST EDITION FIRST PRINT WITH INTERESTING ILLUSTRATED COVER. TEXT IS FIRM CLEAN BUT TYELLOWED. NOT WRITTEN IN. NEXT DAY POST FROM UK. read more
"This book is a must-read for those who are literary fans of classic African American literature. Published in 1945, Chester Himes does a marvelous job capturing the vivid character Bob Jones, who endures racism while living in California, discrimination on his job, and color complexes among his Black American friends. The main character, Jones, resembles the character Bigger Thomas from Richard Wright's great novel 'Native Son', in that they both deal with the infectious disease of social racism. As a result, they both grappled feelings of inferiority, thoughts of murder, rape, and destruction upon the Anglo-Saxon population. Himes proves himself to be a wonderful literary genius with this novel."
"A very powerful book, probably the closest thing in print a white man can come to experiencing what it's like to live in a world where no matter what you do you're always a "boy" - a second-class citizen. I particularly liked Himes' ability to look at the many ways African-Americans cope with that status.
I think it's better today than when this book first appeared in 1945 but then I read about a private swimming pool that barred a bunch of black children from swimming there (after they had joined) because they caused the white parents too much anxiety, and I live in LA and know how segregated people still are here.
I became aware of Himes through a quotation in Mike Davis' City of Quartz which deserves repeating here:
Up to the age of 31 I had been hurt emotionally, spiritually, and physically as much as 31 years can bear: I had lived in the South, I had fallen down an elevator shaft, I had been kicked out of college, I had served seven and one half years in prison, I had survived the humiliating last five years of the Depression in Cleveland; and still I was entire, complete, functional; my mind was sharp, my reflexes were good, and I was not bitter. But under the mental corrosion of race prejudice in Los Angeles I had become bitter and saturated with hate. (City of Quartz, p. 43)
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