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senquezada29's review against another edition
5.0
Easily one of the best, most beautiful, most painful, most insightful books I've ever read. While reading this letter to the author's son, my thoughts were if I ever have a son, I'll want him to read this too. The Dreamers and the Dream described by the author are ever-present and no educational, professional or monetary success can ever save you from it. I highly recommend this book.
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Gun violence, Dysphoria, Confinement, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Trafficking, Police brutality, Slavery, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Genocide, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Grief, and Cultural appropriation
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
5.0
An incredible read. I couldn't put it down once I started. The language and cadence of Coates' writing grabs you and pulls you in. Michelle Alexander said, "One of the great joys of reading Ta-Nehisi Coates is being challenged in ways you didn’t expect or imagine." Absolutely true. It's as good as the best review, go out and read it.
lubalis's review against another edition
3.0
This book was really tough to follow and the topics jump back and forth.
bethaburn's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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.