African American Literature: The Must Reads
Explore essential African American literature with our curated list of must-read books. Discover classic and contemporary works by influential Black authors that celebrate culture, history, and powerful storytelling.
Book
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
by Frederick Douglass
This book is an autobiographical account by runaway slave Frederick Douglass that chronicles his experiences with his owners and overseers and discusses how slavery affected both slaves and slaveholders.
Book
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person -- no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.
![Go tell it on the mountain : [a novel] Cover](https://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0440330076.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Book
Go tell it on the mountain : [a novel]
by James Baldwin
This novel of Black life in America is written with an impartial attitude
Book
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this deeply compelling novel and epic milestone of American literature, a nameless narrator tells his story from the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years He describes growing up in a Black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood," before retreating amid violence and confusion. Originally published in 1952 as the first novel by a then unknown author, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The book is a passionate and witty tour de force of style, strongly influenced by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, James Joyce, and Dostoevsky.
Book
Song of Solomon
by Toni Morrison
This novel takes readers into a magical and richly peopled world which encompasses four generations of African American life. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
