Books

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1953. Advance Reading Copy. Advance reading copy, issued to reviewers before publication of the first edition, with alternate artwork not used in the first edition. [x], 303, [1] pp. Perfectbound in publisher's illustrated wraps. Very Good, dampstain to front wrap; spine sunned, creased, and rubbed along edges. Slight curling to front wrap, wear at corners. Small marginal tidemark to upper margins of prelims. A rare prepublication copy of the celebrated African American author's first book.

Go Tell It on the Mountain is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Baldwin that examines the role of the Christian Church in the lives of African-Americans, both as a source of repression and moral hypocrisy and as a source of inspiration and community. It also details the social and psychological pressures that lead to the moral and spiritual decline of John Grimes, a teenage boy much like Baldwin himself.