We Were Eight Years in Power: 'One of the foremost essayists on race in the West' Nikesh Shukla, author of The Good Immigrant

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'I've been wondering who might fill the intellectual void after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates' Toni Morrison
'Searing. One of the foremost essayists on race in the West... [He] is responsible for some of the most important writing about what it is to be black in America today' Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant
An essential account of modern America, from Obama to Trump, from black lives matter to white supremacists rising - by the bestselling author of Between the World and Me
Obama's presidency was a watershed moment in American history. From 2008-2016, the leader of the free world was a black man. In those eight years, Obama transformed the conversation around race, gender, class and wealth - inspiring hope but also attracting criticism and breeding discontent.
In this unflinching book, Ta-Nehisi Coates takes stock of Obama's eight years in power, through such iconic, unmissable essays as 'Fear of a Black President' and 'The Case for Reparations'. His account traverses the intersections of the political, the ideological and the cultural, presenting an America in radical flux and yet still in the grip of racial injustice, class warfare and institutional conspiracy. And it reflects on the author's own journey through these eight years, charting the public through the private in passages of startling intimate and piercingly relevant memoir.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of our most brilliant, most fearless and most essential living writers - and his work is crucial to understanding race in America today.
Finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize 2018
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence 2018
RAVE READER REVIEWS:
'Brilliantly written, incisive, and extremely relevant. Read it with your families, use it in your classrooms, give copies to your friends' (Liz)
'Coates thinks more deeply and writes more clearly about the national tragedy and disgrace that is our collective failure to confront the legacy of White Supremacy than just about anyone... I can't recommend it highly enough' (Worddancer Redux)
'Every white person who wants to really know how it looks from 'the other side' should take on the responsibility of reading Coates' eye-opening, informative book... A must read for everyone of every colour' (Indy JV)
'A masterful understanding of how the USA really works' (shedgirl)
'If you want to know the wellsprings of racism in America - then read this book!' (David C. R. Hancock)

Synopsis

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'I've been wondering who might fill the intellectual void after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates' Toni Morrison

'Searing. One of the foremost essayists on race in the West... [He] is responsible for some of the most important writing about what it is to be black in America today' Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant

An essential account of modern America, from Obama to Trump, from black lives matter to white supremacists rising - by the bestselling author of Between the World and Me

Obama's presidency was a watershed moment in American history. From 2008-2016, the leader of the free world was a black man. In those eight years, Obama transformed the conversation around race, gender, class and wealth - inspiring hope but also attracting criticism and breeding discontent.

In this unflinching book, Ta-Nehisi Coates takes stock of Obama's eight years in power, through such iconic, unmissable essays as 'Fear of a Black President' and 'The Case for Reparations'. His account traverses the intersections of the political, the ideological and the cultural, presenting an America in radical flux and yet still in the grip of racial injustice, class warfare and institutional conspiracy. And it reflects on the author's own journey through these eight years, charting the public through the private in passages of startling intimate and piercingly relevant memoir.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of our most brilliant, most fearless and most essential living writers - and his work is crucial to understanding race in America today.

Finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize 2018
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence 2018

RAVE READER REVIEWS:

'Brilliantly written, incisive, and extremely relevant. Read it with your families, use it in your classrooms, give copies to your friends' (Liz)

'Coates thinks more deeply and writes more clearly about the national tragedy and disgrace that is our collective failure to confront the legacy of White Supremacy than just about anyone... I can't recommend it highly enough' (Worddancer Redux)

'Every white person who wants to really know how it looks from 'the other side' should take on the responsibility of reading Coates' eye-opening, informative book... A must read for everyone of every colour' (Indy JV)

'A masterful understanding of how the USA really works' (shedgirl)

'If you want to know the wellsprings of racism in America - then read this book!' (David C. R. Hancock)

$11.72

Quantity

6 in stock

More Information

Format: paperback
Publisher: Penguin
Published:
ISBN 10: 0241982499
ISBN 13: 9780241982495
Book Overview: From Obama to Trump, from black lives matter to the rise of the alt-right - THE definitive state-of-the-nation analysis of modern America.

Media Reviews

Coates' always sharp commentary is particularly insightful as each day brings a new upset to the cultural and political landscape laid during the term of the nation's first black president. [A] crucial voice in the public discussion of race and equality, and readers will be eager for his take on where we stand now and why * Booklist *
It's this timeless timeliness--reminiscent of the work of George Orwell and James Baldwin--that makes Coates worth reading again and again * Publishers Weekly *
Fiercely passionate, intelligent and clear-eyed * Newsday *
Across his oeuvre, Coates' prose style and literary prowess are hip-hop sharpened: he believes in the art of dexterous reference, potent, lyrical critique and political storytelling * Baltimore Sun *
Coates's probing essays about race, politics, and history became necessary ballast for this nation's gravity-defying moment... Essential * The Boston Globe *
Biting cultural and political analysis from the award-winning journalist . . . His conclusions are disquieting, his writing passionate, his tenor often angry.... Emotionally charged, deftly crafted, and urgently relevant essays * Kirkus *
Powerfully charged * GQ *
[R]aw and hard to read. You'll never forget his point of view, nor should you * Glamour *
Thus, We Were Eight Years in Power serves as a clarion call for vigilance about the possible erosion of African-American advances presumed sacrosanct. Consider these riveting, well-reasoned ruminations of the most-prodigious black visionary around a must-read indeed * The Mississippi Link *

Author Bio

TA-NEHISI COATES is a national correspondent for The Atlantic and the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Between the World and Me, winner of the National Book Award. A MacArthur 'Genius Grant' Fellow, Coates has received the National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and the George Polk Award for his Atlantic cover story 'The Case for Reparations'. He lives in New York with his wife and son.