--- description: Find out why "Baldwin" is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'Baldwin' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte99ac87136cd653b/6998cb2e9fbc7c4ce9d9a919/100_Books_2025_Baldwin-Nicholas-Boggs.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 12, 2025 # Baldwin by Nicholas Boggs by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  To better understand [James Baldwin](https://time.com/6835782/james-baldwin-election-2024-essay/ "undefined")’s life and career, writer and editor Nicholas Boggs took a closer look at the literary icon’s greatest romances. _Baldwin: A Love Story_ delves into the titular author’s most intimate relationships—with his earliest mentor, Harlem painter Beauford Delaney, his collaborators, Turkish actor Engin Cezzar and French artist Yoran Cazac, and his muse, Swiss painter Lucien Happersberger, whom Baldwin called the “love of my life.” This major Baldwin biographyexplores the ways in which his connections with these men influenced how he saw the world and his place in it. It also offers a fascinating window into how his deep desire for intimacy pervaded his most enduring works. Using newly unearthed archival material, original research, and interviews with Baldwin’s greatest admirers, Boggs paints a dynamic portrait of a complex writer and thinker whose heart was his greatest asset. —_Shannon Carlin_ **_These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser._** **Buy Now:** _Baldwin_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780374178710 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/482syCb "undefined") These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329478/baldwin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329478/baldwin/"},"headline":"Baldwin","datePublished":"2025-11-12T13:00:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T01:02:15.326Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329478/baldwin/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","ecommerce","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte99ac87136cd653b/6998cb2e9fbc7c4ce9d9a919/100_Books_2025_Baldwin-Nicholas-Boggs.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte99ac87136cd653b/6998cb2e9fbc7c4ce9d9a919/100_Books_2025_Baldwin-Nicholas-Boggs.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329478/baldwin/","name":"Baldwin"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"100 Best Books of the Year","description":"100 Best Books of 2025 with Lucy Feldman","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/VhaWtoKm/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-11-12T20:18:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VhaWtoKm.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329478/baldwin/","duration":"PT1M34S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/the-100-must-read-books-of-2025/7329478/baldwin/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```