James Baldwin (2) (1841–1925)
Author of Fifty Famous Stories Retold
For other authors named James Baldwin, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in New York. Baldwin's father was a pastor who subjected his children to poverty, abuse, and religious fanaticism. As a result, many of Baldwin's recurring themes, such as alienation and rejection, are attributable to his upbringing. Living the life of a show more starving artist, Baldwin went through numerous jobs, including dishwasher, office boy, factory worker, and waiter. In 1948, he moved to France, where much work originated. Baldwin published Go Tell It on the Mountain in 1953. A largely autobiographical work, it tells of the religious awakening of a fourteen-year-old. In addition to his childhood experiences, his experiences as a black man and a homosexual provided inspiration for such works as Giovanni's Room, Nobody Knows My Name, and Another Country. Baldwin holds a distinguished place in American history as one of the foremost writers of both black and gay literature. He was an active participant in the Civil Rights movement. Baldwin succumbed to cancer on December 1, 1987. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Portrait of James Baldwin (1841–1925) from The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume XIV, 1910, page 134 By Unknown author - The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume XIV, 1910, page 134, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97583135
Series
Works by James Baldwin
Four Great Americans: Washington, Franklin, Webster, Lincoln: A Book for Young Americans (1897) 57 copies
James Baldwin, Complete Works (Illustrated): (Seven books included with illustrations) (2016) 3 copies
The Discovery of the Old Northwest 2 copies
For Want of a Horse: Twenty-Three Tales of Supernatural Stallions, Magical Mares, and Paranormal Ponies (2015) — Contributor — 2 copies
The story of liberty, 2 copies
John Bunyan's Dream Story: The Pilgrim's Progress Retold for Children and Adapted to School Reading (Classic… (2015) 1 copy
Four American Pioneers 1 copy
Another Fairy Reader 1 copy
The Fifth Wheel 1 copy
Julius Ceasar (Annotated) 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1841
- Date of death
- 1925
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Birthplace
- Rush County, Indiana, USA
- Places of residence
- Indiana, USA
- Occupations
- school superintendent
textbook editor
children's book author - Short biography
- James Baldwin (1841–1925) was born in Indiana, United States and made a career as an educator and administrator in that state starting at the age of 24. He served as the superintendent of Indiana's school system for eighteen years and then went on to become a widely published textbook editor and children's author in the subjects of legends, mythology, biography, and literature, among others.
James Baldwin was one of the most prolific authors of school books for children at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. In addition to the Baldwin Readers (1897), he co‐authored the Harper Readers (1888) and the Expressive Readers (1911). He wrote over thirty books about famous people in history and retold classical stories. His publications numbered 54 volumes. It is estimated that 26 million copies of his works sold worldwide, including China and Indonesia. A self‐educated man, he became a school superintendent before working as an editor for Harper's and later for the American Book Company.
He wrote more than fifty books, the most famous of which include Fifty Famous Stories Retold (1896) and Abraham Lincoln, a True Life (1904).
Members
Discussions
Where to start with James Baldwin? in Book talk (February 2022)
James Baldwin in Legacy Libraries (March 2016)
Reviews
Lists
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 70
- Also by
- 18
- Members
- 2,476
- Popularity
- #10,356
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 12
- ISBNs
- 864
- Languages
- 23
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