Scan barcode
noahreadbookgood's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book, a compilation of Coates' essays published in The Atlantic with added chapters describing his headspace, the history surrounding and leading up to the articles, and more, is like a flashlight shined on the old and present problem of racism in America. The articles are good on their own, and accessible elsewhere, I'm sure, but the choice of articles with the added context of Coates' notes for each one help solidify them into a larger story of the Obama administration, how aspects of it and how America reacted felt from Coates' ever-clear perspective, and how America's deepest sin was spurred into action by it. Despite how it seems Coates himself feels, to me books like this create hope for a future where we really have ended racism, if not any time soon then at least at some point. I say that confidently because work like this exists, work so elucidating on the presence of racism, how it has not left us in the way many of us might have thought, and how it still works. In bubbling out of the ground in response to the Obama administration, the vestiges of white supremacy have entered the sunlight. It is now where we can all see it, and one day finish it for good.
the_eucologist's review against another edition
4.0
First run-through. Can definitely see the legitimacy of some criticisms, but there's also a lot in the text actively resisting others (particularly the more facile ones).
daumari's review against another edition
5.0
You may have already read these essays of Coates' in The Atlantic as they were posted, but they're worth a revisit, especially when paired with introductions that contextualize where Coates was in his career and the thoughts as he wrote these pieces. The title comes from a quote at the end of Reconstruction, and it's pretty apt as we've entered a period where the segment who identify primarily as White want to reassert their power.
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
5.0
This collection feels like a blend of journalism and essay with a bit of memoir as well. Ta-Nehisi Coates has gathered his best pieces of writing from the years of Barack Obama's presidency and pulled them together with new commentary for each. With extensive reporting, relevant historical research, and incredible insight, Coates examines the situation of black Americans throughout Obama's presidency and in light of the backlash to Obama that fueled the election of Donald Trump, and considers the impact of it all on American history.
Coates' "Between the World and Me" is brilliant, but this is even better, in my opinion, which is remarkable considering that the essays were written over a period of more than eight years. Most compilations of short works have at least a few weak pieces, but every single thing in this collection is profound, though you can see the evolution of Coates' writing in each successive year. Coates is a master at blending relevant statistics, facts, and history into a compelling narrative that includes his own story. He shows how white supremacy has been not just a small part of history that we can sweep under the rug but actually a defining element of American culture and a fundamental influence on U.S. politics, from 1776 to today. He demonstrates why the election of a black President does not mean we are living in a post-racial America. Many of us already knew that, but no one puts it all together better than Ta-Nehisi Coates. "We Were Eight Years in Power" is a must-read.
Coates' "Between the World and Me" is brilliant, but this is even better, in my opinion, which is remarkable considering that the essays were written over a period of more than eight years. Most compilations of short works have at least a few weak pieces, but every single thing in this collection is profound, though you can see the evolution of Coates' writing in each successive year. Coates is a master at blending relevant statistics, facts, and history into a compelling narrative that includes his own story. He shows how white supremacy has been not just a small part of history that we can sweep under the rug but actually a defining element of American culture and a fundamental influence on U.S. politics, from 1776 to today. He demonstrates why the election of a black President does not mean we are living in a post-racial America. Many of us already knew that, but no one puts it all together better than Ta-Nehisi Coates. "We Were Eight Years in Power" is a must-read.
thechanelmuse's review against another edition
5.0
“America is literally unimaginable without plundered labor shackled to plundered land, without the organizing principle of whiteness as citizenship, without the culture crafted by the plundered, and without that culture itself being plundered.”
“And I now knew that the line dividing black and white America was neither phenotypical, nor cultural, nor even genetic. In fact, there was no line at all, no necessary division of any kind. We were not two sides of a coin. We were not the photonegative of each other. To be black in America was to be plundered. To be white was to benefit from, and at times directly execute, this plunder. No national conversation, no invocations to love, no moral appeals, no pleas for ‘sensitivity’ and ‘diversity,’ no lamenting of ‘race relations’ could make this right. Racism was banditry, pure and simple. And the banditry was not incidental to America, it was essential to it.”
There is so much to unpack from this raw, honest, dense collection of eight essential essays originally published in The Atlantic—one penned each year of the Obama presidency—providing an extensive, detailed analysis on the framework of white supremacy in America built on “black plunder and white democracy,” chattel slavery, racism, segregation, racially motivated violence and coldblooded killings, mass incarceration fostering things such as racially discriminatory practices (Jim Crow laws, redlining, housing policies, bank policies), making way for America's first white president to bloom what had been planted and watered for centuries.
“Trump truly is something new—the first president whose entire political existence hinges on the fact of a black president. And so it will not suffice to say Trump is a white man like all the others who rose to become president. He must be called by his correct name and rightful honorific—America’s first white president.”
EVERYONE needs to read this book.
“And I now knew that the line dividing black and white America was neither phenotypical, nor cultural, nor even genetic. In fact, there was no line at all, no necessary division of any kind. We were not two sides of a coin. We were not the photonegative of each other. To be black in America was to be plundered. To be white was to benefit from, and at times directly execute, this plunder. No national conversation, no invocations to love, no moral appeals, no pleas for ‘sensitivity’ and ‘diversity,’ no lamenting of ‘race relations’ could make this right. Racism was banditry, pure and simple. And the banditry was not incidental to America, it was essential to it.”
There is so much to unpack from this raw, honest, dense collection of eight essential essays originally published in The Atlantic—one penned each year of the Obama presidency—providing an extensive, detailed analysis on the framework of white supremacy in America built on “black plunder and white democracy,” chattel slavery, racism, segregation, racially motivated violence and coldblooded killings, mass incarceration fostering things such as racially discriminatory practices (Jim Crow laws, redlining, housing policies, bank policies), making way for America's first white president to bloom what had been planted and watered for centuries.
“Trump truly is something new—the first president whose entire political existence hinges on the fact of a black president. And so it will not suffice to say Trump is a white man like all the others who rose to become president. He must be called by his correct name and rightful honorific—America’s first white president.”
EVERYONE needs to read this book.
desheebasara's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
4.0
My black friend suggested this to me, I get why. I am sorry. Black lives matter