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bethaburn's review
5.0
This book is required reading for sure. I wish I had read it earlier. It’s beautifully written and the content is so important.
thepetitepunk's review
4.0
Between the World and Me is a necessary read. In the format of a letter to his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates recounts his experiences of being a black man in America and his reflections on systemic racism. I was going to write a full review for this, but I've decided that Coates says things so much better, so here are some of my favorite quotes:
I remember being amazed that death could so easily rise up from the nothing of a boyish afternoon, billow up like fog.
I was a curious boy, but the schools were not concerned with curiosity. They were concerned with compliance.
It does not matter that the "intentions" of individual educators were noble. Forget about intentions. What any institution, or its agents, "intend" for you is secondary. Our world is physical.
I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people's interests. The library was open, unending, free.
The birth of a better world is not ultimately up to you, though I know, each day, there are grown men and women who tell you otherwise. The world needs saving precisely because of the actions of these same men and women.
The problem with the police is not that they are fascist pigs but that our country is ruled by majoritarian pigs.
The fact of history is that black people have not--probably no people have ever--liberated themselves strictly through their own efforts.
In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body--it is heritage.
Please read this book.
I remember being amazed that death could so easily rise up from the nothing of a boyish afternoon, billow up like fog.
I was a curious boy, but the schools were not concerned with curiosity. They were concerned with compliance.
It does not matter that the "intentions" of individual educators were noble. Forget about intentions. What any institution, or its agents, "intend" for you is secondary. Our world is physical.
I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people's interests. The library was open, unending, free.
The birth of a better world is not ultimately up to you, though I know, each day, there are grown men and women who tell you otherwise. The world needs saving precisely because of the actions of these same men and women.
The problem with the police is not that they are fascist pigs but that our country is ruled by majoritarian pigs.
The fact of history is that black people have not--probably no people have ever--liberated themselves strictly through their own efforts.
In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body--it is heritage.
Please read this book.
elixtirr's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
jbrazzzy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
lindsayaunderwood's review
4.0
I wish I would have been reading this book as part of a class or book club. I always say that when it comes to books that aren't traditional page turners, but are still incredibly important on a social level. Read it and absorb it is really all I can say.
ericat7's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
angelsrgorgeous's review
5.0
Masterfully well-written. I'm finding myself reading this slowly to allow it to sink in. Very worth the time.
Now finished - truly wonderful. There are a lot of things here that are worth being considered. I appreciated how Coates uses the language found more in black scholarship when referring to black and white (or "those who think they are white"), how he offers a different point of view on the source of racism (everything stems back to status in society being linked to the ability to control the body of another, here is highlighted the control and breaking of the black body).
He is a wonderfully talented writer and while it was a bit heavy at times, this almost necessitates the sow reading of it to allow the concepts and his thoughtful approach to sink in.
Valuable.
Now finished - truly wonderful. There are a lot of things here that are worth being considered. I appreciated how Coates uses the language found more in black scholarship when referring to black and white (or "those who think they are white"), how he offers a different point of view on the source of racism (everything stems back to status in society being linked to the ability to control the body of another, here is highlighted the control and breaking of the black body).
He is a wonderfully talented writer and while it was a bit heavy at times, this almost necessitates the sow reading of it to allow the concepts and his thoughtful approach to sink in.
Valuable.