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Paperback The Big Sea: An Autobiography Book

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ISBN: 0809015498

ISBN13: 9780809015498

The Big Sea

Name: The journies of a Hero
Item: The Big Sea
Rating: 5
Author: Thriftbooks.com User

(Book #13 in the The Collected Works of Langston Hughes Series)

By Langston Hughes

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Book Overview

"This book is the chronicle of a bright and lively artistic ear that brought the African-American people full into the twentieth century. It is a wonderful book " --Amiri Baraka

In his incisive introduction to The Big Sea, an American classic, Arnold Rampersad writes: "This is American writing at its best--simpler than Hemingway; as simple and direct as that of another Missouri-born writer...Mark Twain."

Langston Hughes, born in 1902, came of age early in the 1920s. In The Big Sea he recounts those memorable years in the two great playgrounds of the decade--Harlem and Paris. In Paris he was a cook and waiter in nightclubs. He knew the musicians and dancers, the drunks and dope fiends. In Harlem he was a rising young poet--at the center of the "Harlem Renaissance."

Format:Paperback

Language:English

ISBN:0809015498

ISBN13:9780809015498

Release Date:August 1993

Publisher:Hill & Wang

Length:368 Pages

Weight:0.83 lbs.

Dimensions:1.1" x 5.4" x 7.9"

Related Subjects

Childhood Memories Love And Romance Racism And Discrimination Autobiography Non-Fiction Creative Expression Finding Identity Biographical Biographies Biographies & History

Customer Reviews

8 customer ratings | 5 reviews

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Rated 5 stars
The journies of a Hero

By Thriftbooks.com User, July 17, 2006

"On a radio show, he (Hughes) defended the right of trumpeter Louis Armstrong, who had long faced the white world with a broad grin, to vent his racial anger." Like Armstrong, Hughes also faced the same world with his broad smile. Throughout the BIG SEA and I WONDER AS I WANDER, there in the texts of both autobiographies is the ever smiling Hughes. Other than the people he met and the foreign lands he visited---all making...

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Rated 5 stars
A wonderful memoir

By Thriftbooks.com User, December 4, 2003

Langston Hughes was a wonderful poet and story teller so it is not surprising that his autobiography/memoir is a joy to read. He tells the story of his life by giving us delightful episodes that each read like short stories. Each chapter has the structure of a short story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Along the way, the reader has to be amazed at the texture and breadth of his life adventures. He lives for a short...

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Rated 5 stars
The Big Sea: A Treasure

By Thriftbooks.com User, September 12, 2000

This book had a profound effect my life as a writer.My mother read it to me at night like fairy tales when I was very young. As I grew up and realized I wanted to write professionally, the lessons in The Big Sea made the writing life seem not only possible, but the best life a person could find. I would say without a doubt that this is my favorite book of all time. If I was marooned on a desert island, this would be the...

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Rated 5 stars
A compelling journey of understanding oneself and the world.

By Thriftbooks.com User, August 27, 1998

Langston Hughes' book, "The Big Sea," is a chronicle of the legendary writer's life up until his first success as a writer. His journey's take him to Mexico, Africa, and Europe in a quest to find out his place in this world. In a time when being a person of color meant certain injustice, Hughes uses his travels to become aware of the "ways" of racism and how to combat it. An excellent book that is more an exciting adventure,...

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Rated 5 stars
An intriguing look at Langston Hughes and Harlem

By Thriftbooks.com User, May 19, 1997

Hughes, known primarily for his poetry and short stories, discusses his life. I found it intriguing that such a wonderful writer struggled so. Much like Maya Angelou's books, this book left me with the feeling that truly great people can overcome tremendous obstacles to succeed. Also like Maya's books, this book made me realize that many of my own troubles pale to those of some very successful people. Perhaps what I enjoyed...

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