Desu is the present positive form of 'be': is. Ka is a question marker when the last sound in a sentence. Japanese grammar also puts desu at the end of sentences. So 'desu ka' is just a combination of the two. I could mean 'isn't it', but that's just a lose translation, I believe.
Notes of a Native Son (1955) is James Baldwin's first book, a collection of essays that are an autobiographical exploration of his experiences growing up in Harlem, his travels in Europe (and the... In the book Native Son, is Bigger's lawyer Max Jewish?
Over the next ten years, Baldwin moved from Paris to New York to Istanbul, writing two books of essays, Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961), as well as two novels, Giovanniâs Room (1956) and Another Country (1962).