,
Readers' Top Horror Novels of the Past 3 Years
Ralph Ellison

Ralph Ellison’s Followers (1,584)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

Ralph Ellison


Born
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, The United States
March 01, 1913

Died
April 16, 1994

Genre
Literature & Fiction, Politics, Nonfiction

Influences
Hemingway, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Louis Armstrong, Richard Wright, ...more


Ralph Ellison was a scholar and writer. He was born Ralph Waldo Ellison in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, named by his father after Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ellison was best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote Shadow and Act (1964), a collection of political, social and critical essays, and Going to the Territory (1986). For The New York Times , the best of these essays in addition to the novel put him "among the gods of America's literary Parnassus." A posthumous novel, Juneteenth, was published after being assembled from voluminous notes he left after his death.

Ellison died of Pancreatic Cancer on April 16, 1994. He was eighty-one years old. ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.91 · 188,597 ratings · 8,579 reviews · 98 distinct works • Similar authors
Invisible Man
3.91 avg rating — 182,766 ratings — published 1952 — 271 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Juneteenth
by
3.62 avg rating — 1,956 ratings — published 1999 — 38 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Flying Home and Other Stories
3.90 avg rating — 761 ratings — published 1996 — 27 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Shadow and Act
4.11 avg rating — 604 ratings — published 1964 — 24 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Battle Royal
3.84 avg rating — 389 ratings — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Collected Essays
by
4.34 avg rating — 283 ratings — published 1995 — 11 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Living with Music: Jazz Wri...
by
4.11 avg rating — 219 ratings — published 2001 — 5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
King of the Bingo Game
3.67 avg rating — 115 ratings — published 1944
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Going to the Territory
4.23 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 1986 — 8 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Three Days Before the Shoot...
by
3.91 avg rating — 96 ratings — published 2010 — 12 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
More books by Ralph Ellison…

Related News

When Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s first book, Sabrina & Corina, came out in 2019, she felt despondent.  “I remember being very depressed and...
Read more...
0 likes · 0 comments
Every heist needs a fence. This is the person who sells what has been stolen, the mover between crime and capitalism. In Colson Whitehead’s...
Read more...
1 likes · 0 comments
  Listen up, because our colleagues here at Goodreads have some excellent audiobook recommendations for you! Of course, the books they've...
Read more...
0 likes · 0 comments
Quotes by Ralph Ellison  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?”
― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
3934 likes
Like

“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.”
― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
tags: freedom, identity, independence, self-awareness, self-discovery
3922 likes
Like

“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.”
― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
tags: control, defeat, humanity, life
2204 likes
Like

Polls

September 2014 New School Classic -

Which book would you like to read for our August 2014 New School Classic Group Read?

 
  41 votes, 19.3%

1996, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, 224pp
 
  39 votes, 18.4%

1952, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, 581pp
 
  22 votes, 10.4%

 
  21 votes, 9.9%

 
  16 votes, 7.5%

 
  15 votes, 7.1%

 
  15 votes, 7.1%

 
  13 votes, 6.1%

 
  10 votes, 4.7%

1913, O Pioneers! by Willa Cather, 176pp
 
  8 votes, 3.8%

1957, On the Beach by Nevil Shute, 296pp
 
  5 votes, 2.4%

 
  4 votes, 1.9%

 
  3 votes, 1.4%

212 total votes
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
SciFi and Fantasy...: What else are you reading in September 2009? 67 204 Oct 05, 2009 01:18PM  
The Seasonal Read...: 50.1 Midway - Senses, Emotions, Memories (pjreads) 201 272 Nov 03, 2009 02:06PM  
The Seasonal Read...: 10.3 (RENAISSANCE READING) 20 164 Jan 14, 2010 03:06PM  
The Next Best Boo...: Christine's 2010 Reading Goal 7 71 Sep 19, 2010 06:54PM  
Romance Readers R...: Shea's 2010 Challenges 14 88 Nov 27, 2010 10:19PM