Between the World and Me

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Book Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER - NAMED ONE OF TIME'S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE - PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST - NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST - ONE OF OPRAH'S "BOOKS THAT HELP ME THROUGH" - NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SPECIAL EVENT

Hailed by Toni Morrison as "required reading," a bold and personal literary exploration of America's racial history by "the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race" (Rolling Stone)

NAMED ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY - NAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY CNN - NAMED ONE OF PASTE'S BEST MEMOIRS OF THE DECADE

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, New York, Newsday, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race," a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men--bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates's attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son--and readers--the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children's lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812993543
• ISBN13: 9780812993547
• Release Date: July 2015
• Publisher: One World
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Lovely

Lovely book

This is one of those books everyone must read...

With today's interest in race relations in the USA, this book should be everyone's first pick. A letter written from a Black father to his fifteen year old son, Between the World and Me discusses the struggles of growing up Black in Baltimore, attending Howard, and existing in America as a Black man. A quick read, this book is essential to a healthy understanding of racism in America, and is a great choice for anyone interested in growing beyond their racist misconceptions.

Incredible

Shocking, beautiful, moving, inspiring--so many emotions were felt throughout this book, it is a must read for all humans, especially those residing in the U.S.

Amazing Book.

Not a professional reviewer but I related so much with this book. I think I was in a place of comfort in my own life and scared of growth, but this book helped take the chains off. The beautiful struggle was equally just as good.