A classic in the Black literary canon.
Continuously available in print since 1968, this novel has become embedded in progressive anti-racist culture with wide circulation of the book and hotly debated film and television adaptations. A classic in the Black literary tradition, The Spook Who Sat by the Door is a strong comment on entrenched racial inequities in the United States in the late 1960s. With its focus on the "militancy" that characterized the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, this is the story of one man's reaction to ruling-class hypocrisy in ways that make the novel autobiographical and personal. As a tale of a reaction to the forces of oppression, this book is universal.
Dan Freeman, the "spook who sat by the door," is enlisted in the CIA's elitist espionage program. Upon mastering agency tactics, however, he drops out to train young Black Chicagoans to combat racism as"Freedom Fighters" in this explosive novel.
A classic in the Black literary canon.
Continuously available in print since 1968, this novel has become embedded in progressive anti-racist culture with wide circulation of the book and hotly debated film and television adaptations. A classic in the Black literary tradition, The Spook Who Sat by the Door is a strong comment on entrenched racial inequities in the United States in the late 1960s. With its focus on the "militancy" that characterized the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, this is the story of one man's reaction to ruling-class hypocrisy in ways that make the novel autobiographical and personal. As a tale of a reaction to the forces of oppression, this book is universal.
Dan Freeman, the "spook who sat by the door," is enlisted in the CIA's elitist espionage program. Upon mastering agency tactics, however, he drops out to train young Black Chicagoans to combat racism as"Freedom Fighters" in this explosive novel.
Sam Greenlee (1930–2014) was a highly acclaimed, internationally known poet, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, producer, director, actor, and teacher. A former U.S. Information Agency Foreign Service officer, he is the author of Baghdad Blues and three collections of poetry.
Blends James Bond parody with wit and rage.--Time magazine
"Time"
Deadly--Newsweek "Newsweek"
In my early 20s, a dusty used paperback changed the way I saw spy
fiction. The Spook Who Sat by the Door, by Sam Greenlee, is a
Black-power era spy novel. It was the first time I could enjoy a
spy story without having to root for an agent of empire.--Aya de
Leon "New York Times Review of Books"
An important, original, nitty-gritty book.--Dick Gregory "is an
American comedian"
The place names and people took me back home, but the scenes of
police violence against protesters brings this book from a relic of
the past into the very real present.--Jeff Waxman "Literary Hub"
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