a book

Between the World and Me

Name: Between the World and Me
Rating: 5 (19 reviews)
Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
ISBN: 9781410485847

Ta-Nehisi Coates · 2015 · 337 pages

"For Ta-Nehisi Coates, history has always been personal. At every stage of his life, he's sought in his explorations of history answers to the mysteries that surrounded him -- most urgently, why he, and other black people he knew, seemed to live in fear. What were they afraid of? In Between the world and me, Coates takes readers along on his journey through America's history of race and its contemporary resonances through a series of awakenings -- moments when he discovered some new truth about our long, tangled history of race, whether through his myth-busting professors at Howard University, a trip to a Civil War battlefield with a rogue historian, a journey to Chicago's South Side to visit aging survivors of 20th century America's 'long war on black people, ' or a visit with the mother of a beloved friend who was shot down by the police. In his trademark style -- a mix of lyrical personal narrative, reimagined history, essayistic argument, and reportage -- Coates provides readers a thrillingly illuminating new framework for understanding race: its history, our contemporary dilemma, and where we go from here"--

recommended by 19 people

sourced from public statements

Jack Dorsey
“One of the books that had a major influence on me.”↗
Cal Fussman
“It’s a letter to his son about being a black male in America. I think it is required reading.”↗
Linda Sarsour
“These five books are a MUST READ. #transformative”↗
DeRay Mckesson
“I've read @tanehisicoates' newest book & it's a must-read. I can't wait for us all to discuss it. Order yours.”↗
Sunny Hostin
“Since it can’t be done in 140 characters might I suggest two books just to start with - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, and Between the World and Me written by Ta-Nehisi Coates.”↗
Questlove
““A clear and powerful thinker writing about how we got to where we got, and where we’re going next. The voice of the times I live in.” -Q”↗
Gabrielle Union
“As written to his son, Coates’s poignant and gripping essays that tackle race in America. The book has been a great resource when having the difficult and necessary conversations about race with teens and adults.”↗
Ted Koppel
“An uneasy truce exists between black and white Americans: We avoid giving offense largely by not talking about how race alters lived experience. Coates takes that subject head-on, explaining the nearly constant fear that still afflicts black Americans. This is an uncomfortable book, but brilliant and right on point.”↗
Jess Brammar
“I’ve ploughed through books in last few months, using @BorrowBox or @audible to listen as I walk. Loved Queenie, Wolf Hall series, Line of Beauty, Beekeeper of Aleppo, The Color Purple, Between The World And Me. Didn’t love Overstory or Where Crawdads Sing but both decent”↗
Lee Pace
“Happy Thanksgiving. Just read a couple excellent books. #BetweenTheWorldAndMe #ALittleLife Felt compelled to share.”↗
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