Claude Brown

Manchild in the Promised Land Claude Brown

One of the most remarkable autobiographies of our time, Manchild in the Promised Land is a seminal work of modern literature. This thinly fictionalized account of Claude Brown's childhood as a hardened, streetwise criminal trying to survive the streets of Harlem has been heralded as the definitive account of everyday life for African Americans raised in the northern ghettos of the 1940s and '50s. When the book was first published in 1965, it was praised for its realistic portrayal of Harlem -- the children and hardworking parents; the hustlers, drug dealers, prostitutes, and numbers runners; the police; the violence, sex, and humor. The book continues to resonate generations later, not only because of its fierce and dignified anger, but also because of its inspiring message. Now with an introduction by Nathan McCall, here is the story about the one who "made it," the boy who kept landing on his feet and became a man.