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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
I love a collection of essays and notes for reflection that help me follow the evolution of the author, and this was a timely option. Just a week before the 2020 election felt like the right time to reflect on the presidency that came before.
The last few essays, the meat and potatoes of the book, really helped me reckon with how we went from Obama to Trump and the unique circumstances of the Obama years.
The last few essays, the meat and potatoes of the book, really helped me reckon with how we went from Obama to Trump and the unique circumstances of the Obama years.
There's an essay here, previously written, for each of the 8 years of Obama's presidency, along with new writing prefacing each chapter and a prologue and epilogue. I'm glad I waited a few years to read this , post Trump, I think this collection will be an important look into this era down the road.
Funny to read this now. It's dated, in a very literal sense: eight essays, each timely at the time of publish (in the Atlantic, during the years of the Obama presidency) and each with a preceding chapter concerning Coates's life and writing at that particular moment. In that sense it somewhat invites assessment as to how it's aged. (My impression: mixed bag.) But it's also very grounding, because while reading you can't help but place yourself back in the time of writing, remembering, rediscovering along with Coates, re-experiencing the past with the bitter taste of the present in your mouth.
Coates is always good, but a couple of the essays are clearly a cut above the rest. Having read most of them are the time, part of the enjoyment for me was finding again something that challenged me and educated me once before. And for one that was new to me, and perhaps the most brilliant of the group, it was a good reminder of Coates's essential place in the public discourse.
Coates is always good, but a couple of the essays are clearly a cut above the rest. Having read most of them are the time, part of the enjoyment for me was finding again something that challenged me and educated me once before. And for one that was new to me, and perhaps the most brilliant of the group, it was a good reminder of Coates's essential place in the public discourse.
I remember trying to read one of these pieces in THE ATLANTIC and giving up because I got lost in the density of it. This collection, though, is compelling: it's in book form, perfect for putting-down to ponder, and the personal intros Coates offers for each essay prove invaluable in providing context for a reader like me -- interested, yet slightly intimidated by his genius. As always, his is a voice piercing, honest, and powerful -- one to be treasured and reckoned with.
TNC's writing is a treasure America doesn't deserve. "We Were Eight Years in Power" is perhaps less earthshaking than "Between the World and Me" due to its format--a collection of (mostly) previously published magazine writing rather than a intensely personal letter from father to son. But that's hardly a fair comparison. This volume is still powerful, sobering and gorgeously written.
Working through "Eight Years" I realized that, in spite of my proclaimed fandom, I hadn't read many of Coates' most high-profile pieces in The Atlantic, such as "The Case for Reparations." Even readers who encountered these pieces as they were first published will find much to appreciate in this book. The writing and rhetoric are timeless, making the work suitable for rereading, and the personal essays that introduce each piece add genuine value to the collection.
Working through "Eight Years" I realized that, in spite of my proclaimed fandom, I hadn't read many of Coates' most high-profile pieces in The Atlantic, such as "The Case for Reparations." Even readers who encountered these pieces as they were first published will find much to appreciate in this book. The writing and rhetoric are timeless, making the work suitable for rereading, and the personal essays that introduce each piece add genuine value to the collection.
An interesting reflection about the role of race during Obama's presidency. Only criticism is Coates didn't give POC's the credit they deserved for their role in electing Obama. And how that lack of engagement, in addition to deep racism within our country, also contributed to Trump's election. Definitely a "must read" for anyone grappling with our "new" environment.
Should be required reading for a lot of American citizens. Coates’ tone is necessarily unapologetic so may lose some people whom don’t want the full horrific and systemic extent of American racism through inception to current day stripped bare and shoved into the spotlight.
The title quote is referenced from a recounting of the immediate racist backlash against successful negro governments in the Reconstruction immediately after the Civil War, but this book recounts a parallel record of Coates’ writings from each year of the Obama presidency, which culminated in the similar backlash of the 2016 election, and also includes his 2017 piece “The First White President” as an epilogue.
Though the content is heavy on the sad/depressing/infuriating, his style and command of language makes it a great read. Even if overall the tone could be construed as nihilistic or defeatist, there are enough moments of beauty and hope to make me think that maybe if we can continue to educate, learn about, and come to terms with all aspects of this country’s past maybe there is a way forward.
The title quote is referenced from a recounting of the immediate racist backlash against successful negro governments in the Reconstruction immediately after the Civil War, but this book recounts a parallel record of Coates’ writings from each year of the Obama presidency, which culminated in the similar backlash of the 2016 election, and also includes his 2017 piece “The First White President” as an epilogue.
Though the content is heavy on the sad/depressing/infuriating, his style and command of language makes it a great read. Even if overall the tone could be construed as nihilistic or defeatist, there are enough moments of beauty and hope to make me think that maybe if we can continue to educate, learn about, and come to terms with all aspects of this country’s past maybe there is a way forward.
Coates collects essays he's written for The Atlantic in each of the eight years of the Obama Presidency, adding a reflective introduction to each from the vantage point of the Trump era with an scrutinizing eye on current and historic events. While I don't always agree with him, I do believe that now more than ever we need to be open-minded about other perspectives, particularly about issues such as race relations. I learned much about African-American history and politics in 'The Legacy of Malcolm X' and 'The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration'. His 'Case for Reparations' seemed provocative and I was poised towards fervent disagreement, but I found my opinions shifting over its discourse. And 'My President Was Black' moved me to tears again as it did in the immediate aftermath of the election.
Not a flawless book but one in which multiple, difficult arguments & philosophies are successfully presented on a level I've not seen before. And this is done in heart-rending writing that is an ode to both the black American experience & writing itself.