From one of the most brilliant writers and thinkers of the twentieth century comes a collection of "passionate, probing, controversial" essays (The Atlantic) on topics ranging from race relations in the United States to the role of the writer in society.

Told with Baldwin's characteristically unflinching honesty, this “splendid book” (The New York Times) offers illuminating, deeply felt essays along with personal accounts of Richard Wright, Norman Mailer and other writers. 

“James Baldwin is a skillful writer, a man of fine intelligence and a true companion in the desire to make life human. To take a cue from his title, we had better learn his name.” —The New York Times

Introduction

PART ONE:  Sitting in the House . . .
1.   The Discovery of What It Means to Be an American
2.   Princes and Powers
3.   Fifth Avenue, Uptown: a Letter from Harlem
4.   East River, Downtown:  Postscript to a Letter from Harlem
5.   A Fly in Buttermilk
6.   Nobody Knows My Name: a Letter from the South
7.   Faulkner and Desegregation
8.   In Search of a Majority

PART TWO:  . . . With Everything on My Mind
9.   Notes from a Hypothetical Novel
10. The Male Prison
11. The Northern Protestant
12. Alas, Poor Richard
i.  Eight Men
ii. The Exile
iii. Alas, Poor Richard
13.  The Black Boy Looks at the White Boy