Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Between the World and Me

Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

114 reviews

katiew221's review

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Worth reading, worth listening to, and worth thinking about. Especially if the topic of race and racism makes you uncomfortable.

Content Warnings

thebookkeepers's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I started this on an ebook and had a harder time getting into the book, but when I switched to audio I was completely captivated. The author narrates the audiobook and his voice inflection and cadence add so much to the overall experience. This was a vulnerable look into a private conversation he wrote to his 15-year-old son explaining his self-discovery, realizations, and lessons about what it means to be a Black man in the world. The writing style felt like that of poetry when I was listening. It isn't an easy read, emotionally, but one that will stay with me.

Content Warnings

keyradiator's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Absolutely breathtaking. Loved damn near every word in this book.

Content Warnings

jake_windish's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This one is going to stay with me for a long time.

Content Warnings

uriah's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.75

So you must wake up every morning knowing that no promise is unbreakable, least of all the promise of waking up at all. This is not despair. These are the preferences of the universe itself: verbs over nouns, actions over states, struggle over hope.

I don't have the words except to say 'wow' and 'breathtaking'

Content Warnings

sellnow_hannah's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

6/5 star

A truly beautiful, moving, and poignant memoir. This is written as a letter to the author’s son about life in a black body in the world of the Dreamers. I read this at the same time as I was listening to The New Jim Crow and this was a great combination. Between the World and Me puts a personal face on some of the themes explored in the more academic New Jim Crow.
Coates’ writing is incredible - almost poetic at many points. I was in awe of his skill and the beauty of his words (and now I want to read his articles for The Atlantic).
As a white, educated woman this book - more than any other I’ve read - made me look closely at my own privilege. While I can never fully understand the experience of living in a black body, this gave a raw, personal, emotional insight into the lives of people Coates describes as living in another galaxy than myself.
I agree with the quote on the jacket, this absolutely should be required reading. This is a book to come back to again and again.

(I don’t rate memoirs below a 4 star because I think it takes a lot of courage to be this vulnerable and share your life story. So for me 4-4.25 is good, 4.5-4.75 is great, 5.0 is fantastic.)

Content Warnings

rmperezpadilla's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

coralcrab77's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

absolutely beautiful. my only regret is that I didn't read it sooner.

Content Warnings

chronicacademia's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

ttmahome's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

Thought provoking writing of the reality of how ones body plays a role in the United States throughout history and today. Well written, and well narrated.

Content Warnings

More...