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  • The Warmth of Other Suns

  • The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
  • Written by: Isabel Wilkerson
  • Narrated by: Robin Miles
  • Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (101 ratings)

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The Warmth of Other Suns

Written by: Isabel Wilkerson
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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Publisher's Summary

In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of Black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER
LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE WINNER
HEARTLAND AWARD WINNER
DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE FINALIST

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY

The New York Times • USA Today • O: The Oprah Magazine • Amazon • Publishers Weekly • Salon • Newsday • The Daily Beast

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY

The New Yorker • The Washington Post • The Economist • Boston Globe • San Francisco Chronicle • Chicago Tribune • Entertainment Weekly • Philadelphia Inquirer • The Guardian • The Seattle Times • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Christian Science Monitor

From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.

With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties.

Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an “unrecognized immigration” within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic.

©2010 Isabel Wilkerson (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
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What the critics say

“A landmark piece of nonfiction . . . sure to hold many surprises for readers of any race or experience….A mesmerizing book that warrants comparison to The Promised Land, Nicholas Lemann’s study of the Great Migration’s early phase, and Common Ground, J. Anthony Lukas’s great, close-range look at racial strife in Boston….[Wilkerson’s] closeness with, and profound affection for, her subjects reflect her deep immersion in their stories and allow the reader to share that connection.” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)
The Warmth of Other Suns is a brilliant and stirring epic, the first book to cover the full half-century of the Great Migration… Wilkerson combines impressive research…with great narrative and literary power. Ms. Wilkerson does for the Great Migration what John Steinbeck did for the Okies in his fiction masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath; she humanizes history, giving it emotional and psychological depth.” (John Stauffer, Wall Street Journal)
" The Warmth of Other Suns is epic in its reach and in its structure. Told in a voice that echoes the magic cadences of Toni Morrison or the folk wisdom of Zora Neale Hurston’s collected oral histories, Wilkerson’s book pulls not just the expanse of the migration into focus but its overall impact on politics, literature, music, sports — in the nation and the world." (Lynell George, Los Angeles Times)

What listeners say about The Warmth of Other Suns

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Loved this book...heartfelt and endearing.

I lived this book. I wished I had learned about the great migration years ago. It adds much context to help understand black culture in America as it continues to evolve.

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Wonderful!

Very well written history. I liked this book a lot and do not hesitate in recommending it. The three main people portrayed are a reflection of human resiliency. This is a book that illustrates clearly the reasons for the current reconning.

The narration by Robin Miles is excellent.

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echoes of oral storytelling

Listening to the voice of this author was important for me, tuning into the tone, energy and details of the different narratives drew me into a deeper way of *hearing what was being shared. I learned from her inflection and pacing, in ways that reading wouldn’t let me access. The audio book honours the gift and importance of oral telling a of personal stories- more than research, or a lens focusing on a time, reading this book with my ears was like company telling me their family’s story

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exceptional story

wonderfully presented, written and resesrched.
the best book that i have encountered in a long while.

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Very Revealing

This narrative is worth listening to. I love this book and would wholeheartedly recommend it.

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Beautifully crafted masterpiece

This book is unique in its composition: A mix of story telling, fact and meaning seeking. I found the balance deeply compelling. The personal journeys of three people and their families mixed with quotes for both historic and contemporary scholarly articles complimented by the authors questions and conclusions gave me an unprecedented depth of feeling and understanding.

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Beautiful

Heartbreaking, shocking, sad, heartmending, and then heart warming. Superbly written and wonderfully read. I know I will listen to it again.

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Fully Engaging History

Wilkerson’s history of the black migration in America is thorough and engrossing. The narrative is expertly crafted and the facts meticulously documented. It sheds particular light on individual lives affected by the migration with incredible detail and empathy. Robin Miles’ narration was ideally suited.

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Must read/listen

I’m not usually a big consumer of history books, but this one was exceedingly accessible and thoroughly enjoyable. The narrator was perfect. Absolutely recommended.

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Exceptionally talented writer

Isabel Wilkerson is a great story teller. I wish other writers could make the content as engaging as she does. She needs to run classes on how to not let a book be boring.

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