The Fire Is upon Us
Nicholas Buccola
How the clash between the civil rights firebrand and the father of modern conservatism continues to illuminate America's racial divide
On February 18, 1965, an overflowing crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to witness a historic televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., a fierce critic of the movement and America's most influential conservative intellectual. The topic was "the American dream is at the expense of the American Negro", and no one who has seen the debate can soon forget it. Nicholas Buccola's The Fire Is upon Us is the first book to tell the full story of the event, the radically different paths that led Baldwin and Buckley to it, the controversies that followed, and how the debate and the decades-long clash between the men continues to illuminate America's racial divide today.
Born in New York City only 15 months apart, the Harlem-raised Baldwin and the privileged Buckley could not have been more different, but they both rose to the height of American intellectual life during the civil rights movement. By the time they met in Cambridge, Buckley was determined to sound the alarm about a man he considered an "eloquent menace." For his part, Baldwin viewed Buckley as a deluded reactionary whose popularity revealed the sickness of the American soul. The stage was set for an epic confrontation that pitted Baldwin's call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley's unabashed elitism and implicit commitment to white supremacy.
A remarkable story of race and the American dream, The Fire Is upon Us reveals the deep roots and lasting legacy of a conflict that continues to haunt our politics.
Duration - 14h 42m.
Author - Nicholas Buccola.
Narrator - Prentice Onayemi.
Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Copyright - © 2019 Nicholas Buccola ©.
Location:
United States
Networks:
Nicholas Buccola
Prentice Onayemi
Princeton University Press
English Audiobooks
Findaway Audiobooks
Description:
How the clash between the civil rights firebrand and the father of modern conservatism continues to illuminate America's racial divide On February 18, 1965, an overflowing crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to witness a historic televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., a fierce critic of the movement and America's most influential conservative intellectual. The topic was "the American dream is at the expense of the American Negro", and no one who has seen the debate can soon forget it. Nicholas Buccola's The Fire Is upon Us is the first book to tell the full story of the event, the radically different paths that led Baldwin and Buckley to it, the controversies that followed, and how the debate and the decades-long clash between the men continues to illuminate America's racial divide today. Born in New York City only 15 months apart, the Harlem-raised Baldwin and the privileged Buckley could not have been more different, but they both rose to the height of American intellectual life during the civil rights movement. By the time they met in Cambridge, Buckley was determined to sound the alarm about a man he considered an "eloquent menace." For his part, Baldwin viewed Buckley as a deluded reactionary whose popularity revealed the sickness of the American soul. The stage was set for an epic confrontation that pitted Baldwin's call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley's unabashed elitism and implicit commitment to white supremacy. A remarkable story of race and the American dream, The Fire Is upon Us reveals the deep roots and lasting legacy of a conflict that continues to haunt our politics. Duration - 14h 42m. Author - Nicholas Buccola. Narrator - Prentice Onayemi. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023. Copyright - © 2019 Nicholas Buccola ©.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duración:00:01:14
Prologue
Duración:00:15:05
Chapter 1: The ghetto and the mansion
Duración:00:39:49
Chapter 2: Disturbing the peace
Duración:01:22:21
Chapter 3: Joining the battle
Duración:01:15:12
Chapter 3: Continued
Duración:01:15:46
Chapter 4: Taking responsibility
Duración:00:57:54
Chapter 4: Continued
Duración:01:03:46
Chapter 5: In the Eye of the Storm
Duración:01:40:58
Chapter 6: What concerns Me Most?
Duración:01:27:53
Chapter 7: The Faith of Our Fathers
Duración:01:19:06
Chapter 8: Lighting the fuse
Duración:01:01:56
Chapter 8: Continued
Duración:01:03:31
Epilogue - The Fire Is upon Us
Duración:00:24:11
Appendix
Duración:00:54:03