In this âurgently relevantâ* collection featuring the landmark essay âThe Case for Reparations,â the National Book Awardâwinning author of Between the World and Me âreflects on race, Barack Obamaâs presidency and its jarring aftermathâ*âincluding the election of Donald Trump.
New York Times Bestseller ⢠Finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times ⢠USA Today ⢠Time ⢠Los Angeles Times ⢠San Francisco Chronicle ⢠Essence ⢠O: The Oprah Magazine ⢠The Week ⢠Kirkus Reviews
*Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
âWe were eight years in powerâ was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is Americaâs âfirst white president.â
But the story of these present-day eight years is not just about presidential politics. This book also examines the new voices, ideas, and movements for justice that emerged over this periodâand the effects of the persistent, haunting shadow of our nationâs old and unreconciled history. Coates powerfully examines the events of the Obama era from his intimate and revealing perspectiveâthe point of view of a young writer who begins the journey in an unemployment office in Harlem and ends it in the Oval Office, interviewing a president.
We Were Eight Years in Power features Coatesâs iconic essays first published in The Atlantic, including âFear of a Black President,â âThe Case for Reparations,â and âThe Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,â along with eight fresh essays that revisit each year of the Obama administration through Coatesâs own experiences, observations, and intellectual development, capped by a bracingly original assessment of the election that fully illuminated the tragedy of the Obama era. We Were Eight Years in Power is a vital account of modern America, from one of the definitive voices of this historic moment.
In this âurgently relevantâ* collection featuring the landmark essay âThe Case for Reparations,â the National Book Awardâwinning author of Between the World and Me âreflects on race, Barack Obamaâs presidency and its jarring aftermathâ*âincluding the election of Donald Trump.
New York Times Bestseller ⢠Finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times ⢠USA Today ⢠Time ⢠Los Angeles Times ⢠San Francisco Chronicle ⢠Essence ⢠O: The Oprah Magazine ⢠The Week ⢠Kirkus Reviews
*Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
âWe were eight years in powerâ was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is Americaâs âfirst white president.â
But the story of these present-day eight years is not just about presidential politics. This book also examines the new voices, ideas, and movements for justice that emerged over this periodâand the effects of the persistent, haunting shadow of our nationâs old and unreconciled history. Coates powerfully examines the events of the Obama era from his intimate and revealing perspectiveâthe point of view of a young writer who begins the journey in an unemployment office in Harlem and ends it in the Oval Office, interviewing a president.
We Were Eight Years in Power features Coatesâs iconic essays first published in The Atlantic, including âFear of a Black President,â âThe Case for Reparations,â and âThe Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,â along with eight fresh essays that revisit each year of the Obama administration through Coatesâs own experiences, observations, and intellectual development, capped by a bracingly original assessment of the election that fully illuminated the tragedy of the Obama era. We Were Eight Years in Power is a vital account of modern America, from one of the definitive voices of this historic moment.