James Baldwin

November 11, 2007 Norman Mailer, the pugnacious two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who jabbed and bobbed his way, sometimes literally, through an extraordinary career as one of the most original and audacious voices in postwar American letters, died...

NICHOLAS DELBANCO is admirably prolific. He has written 16 books of fiction and edited seven others, including anthologies of writing by winners of the Hopwood Awards, which he oversees at the University of Michigan. And he has written seven nonfiction...

There's a book I don't remember well, though I can remember precisely where I found it in my elementary school library -- three yards to the right of the door, in the middle of the third shelf from the floor. I was, and remain, a compulsive reader. Back...

Studs Terkel, who died last month at the age of 96, was America's most popular oral historian. Though never a "writer" of the first rank, he nevertheless was a unique contributor to American letters and a vital link to the current of idealistic...

A Father's Law By Richard Wright HarperPerennial, 268 pages, $14.95 paper Modern American literature changed forever in March 1940 with the publication of Richard Wright's first novel, "Native Son." After the book's huge success, Wright spent the...

Cal Ripken's first major-league hit came against Dennis Lamp of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 16, 1981. His last hit came against Frank Castillo of the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Oct. 5, 2001. Ripken finished his career with 3,184...

Not in their wildest dreams did Cubs fans think it would come to this. It's one thing for the Cubs to sweep the White Sox back to the South Side with a 13-7 victory before 39,320 fans, most of whom were mocking the Sox with an off-key rendition of "Na,...

It's high season on the French Riviera. The sun is hot, the Champagne is cold and the parties are nonstop. On the yachts and in the seaside villas and luxury hotels, the rich and famous are doing what they do best: enjoying the fruits of their fortunes....

After Sunday's game James Baldwin will board a plane to Atlanta, where he will pitch in his first All-Star Game. And Jon Lieber will hop a flight to Mobile, Ala., where he will help construct a baby room for his wife, Jessica, who is expecting their...

2 stars (out of 4) There might be a lot to root for in "Brother to Brother," a low-budget indie about a black, gay college kid who befriends a living relic from the Harlem Renaissance, but there's little that made me actually like watching it. Ambitious...

Mark Buehrle still dwells on his imperfections while maintaining a perfect record, which is perfectly acceptable behavior to the White Sox. Buehrle improved to 4-0 on Wednesday after a 7-2 victory over Cleveland, joining Randy Johnson and Matt Morris...

With the aid of his changeup and his glove, Jon Garland looked very comfortable Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field under chilly and windy conditions. Garland became the American League's first seven-game winner because he kept the Baltimore Orioles...