The Gang's All Here

JAMES BALDWIN

Became Famous For: The 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain

Now Famous For: His impressive oeuvre; appearing on a postage stamp in 2005

Common Knowledge: A Harlem native who fled the U.S. for Europe and once studied to become a preacher

What You'll Learn from Eminent Outlaws: After publishing Mountain, Baldwin wrote Giovanni’s Room, which his agent told him to burn and his publisher rejected. Baldwin fired his agent and found a new publisher in England. The book eventually became a bestseller.