#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 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 … and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race” (Rolling Stone)
NAMED ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY CNN • NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST MEMOIRS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY 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.
more
This is a painful, yet powerful, read that helps readers understand the Black experience in America. A moving memoir that may not be an easy read but it is an important one.
Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over: https://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/category/reviews/
Through the framework of a letter to his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates teaches readers what growing up black in Baltimore involves. But he doesn’t stop with a simple narrative. Acknowledging and accepting the reality of being black in America gives Coates the freedom to study his world and understand why things are the way they are. He explores the historical, philosophical, and sociological elements at work in his experience, hoping he can prevent the perpetuation of fear onto his son.
One of the strongest parts of the book is Coates stating this is how he grew up, not what he wants for his son. He fights against passing on the burden of blaming the victim. It makes no difference how careful, respectful, or prepared. A black body is at risk just by nature of being, so why corrupt the minds of children to avoid a fate too random to be avoided?
Being raised black as he was compares to the language of poverty. Its rules fill your brain until you have nothing left for the rest. For poverty, escape is called “getting out,” but how do you “get out” of the color of your skin? I don’t normally put quotes in my reviews, but this book demands them.
QUOTE: I have no desire to make you “tough” or “street,” perhaps because any “toughness” I garnered came reluctantly. I think I was always, somehow, aware of the price. I think I somehow knew that that third of my brain should have been concerned with more beautiful things.
This is both memoir and sociological dissection, but never distanced or impartial. To not act on lessons beaten into your skin is another kind of courage. To give his son the chance to learn a new way.
Don’t expect a comfortable read with easy places to take a break. This is a powerful narrative you must rip yourself free of. Some elements are common to a broader experience, but others exist only to keep those who grow up black in the U.S. controlled. At the same time, the memoir is not a grim telling either. He experiences frustration, anger, and pain, but also moments of community and connection that spring from the same source. While being black meant living under the shadow of making a fatal error, his color tied him to a brotherhood with a culture and language all its own.
QUOTE: We have taken the one-drop rules of Dreamers and flipped them. They made us into a race. We made ourselves into a people.
Coates’ memoir, in combination with his study of the events, promises to spark necessary discussions far beyond his son and the black community. He examines race and racism not as complementary facts, but as deliberate lies told to create a separation and denial of personhood. Systematic racism, laced into every aspect of American society, allows people to look away from injustice as though justified. Coates’ exploration of the underlying structure and exposing of the rot beneath the American Dream may bring about genuine change if enough are willing to learn.
I think it’s important in my review of such a work not to speak for someone who has lived a life apart from mine despite parallels. This quote encapsulates why I connect with the book better than I could restate anyway.
QUOTE: That is the best of what the old heads meant when they spoke of being “politically conscious”–as much a series of actions as a state of being, a constant questioning, questioning as ritual, questioning as exploration.
Through a mix of memoir and philosophy, each reflecting on the other, Coates offers a thoughtful, and thought-provoking, accounting of growing up black in the United States. It’s something we can learn from, whether part of the black community or separated from it. We, too, can enter the state of being where questions break down walls. We can reject the false mythology of the American Dream being equally available to everyone that stands ignorant of the past and of the costs it extracts in the present.
I’ll leave you with a final quote, a wish for non-conformity when conforming offers no safety and only hinders the path of change.
QUOTE: You are growing into consciousness, and my wish for you is that you feel no need to constrict yourself to make other people comfortable. None of that can change the math anyway. I never wanted you to be twice as good as them, so much as I have always wanted you to attack every day of your brief bright life in struggle.
A Wise and Timely Narrative: This book discusses incidents and insights from the experiences of an African American life. The author recalls the most important moments in his life while reflecting on wisdom gained from those experiences. From his rough upbringing and early life to his loss of a friend in college, Coates is able to summarize his life in the context of larger societal issues. This book contains many quote worthy passages and thought provoking discussions of race relations in America.
Poetic writing in a memoir
What can I say, every single person should read this book. Maybe more than once. Maybe five times. It is heartbreaking, eyeopening and inspiring. It things we think we know, but ultimately don’t fully understand. It is an awakening.
This is an important book. It is a memoir that is moving and at times, very painful to read. It gave me (as a caucasian American) a deeper understanding of the painful realities that exist (constantly) for black Americans living in our country. One would like to believe that the narrative and experience conveyed in this book would be one that took place 100 years (or more) ago. But that, unfortunately, is not the case. It is concisely and well written and speaks to the significant work that needs to be done in our country to acheive the vision that Abraham Lincoln so clearly professed in Gettysburg 157 years ago (“…our Fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”).
Such a poignant reminder of the perils of being Black in America.Shoulf be manatory reading
I have many books I prefer to read in print, but there have been several non-fiction books lately I found best experienced as audio books. They were each read by the author, which I find brings their story alive in a very profound way. Between the World and Me is one. I highly recommend you listen to this one instead of read it.
Ta-Nahisi Coates has a way of speaking that brings the emotions of what he’s sharing across. His voice, the way he writes, and his style of reading reminds me of listening to a talented spoken word poet perform. This adds extra depth to the importance of the author’s message. The book was written for his son, sharing the truths he has awakened to over his life journey. What a gift!
Between the World and Me helped me gain a little more understanding of what minorities face and why they feel the way they do. I know I will never be able to truly say “I understand,” as I did not grow up facing the same challenges and did not walk in fear for my body. Still, I learned. And there were many important “AHA” moments of enlightenment. I had my eyes opened a little wider, my understanding expanded a bit more. Everyone should read this book. It’s so important to hear each other’s stories, stories outside our own life and experience; to try and see the world from another’s eyes.
“Hate gives identity…We name the hated strangers and are thus confirmed in the tribe.”
“The question is not whether Lincoln truly meant “government of the people” but what our country has, throughout its history, taken the political term “people” to actually mean.”
Perpetuates the victim attitude crippling self worth and individual achievement
I’ve come late to the work of author/journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, as Between the World and Me is the first book I’ve read by him. It’s written in the form of a letter from the author to his fifteen year old son, examining his life and the struggles faced by most Black Americans, which must inevitably be bequeathed to their children. At times heart-rending, consistently unflinching, Coates eloquently portrays the ever-present fear of death people of color live with in our society. And yet, he expresses pride that his son is growing up Black. “They made us into a race. We made ourselves into a people.” Between the World and Me certainly won’t be my last encounter with this author.
So impactful. Should be required reading. Takes a few pages to get into, but will stay with me for a long time.
The was the first of Coates’ books that I read. It’s sad that it needed to be written, but is a masterful piece of writing leading this white reader to a deeper study of anti-racism.
Eye opening, profound essays of what it means to be a Black man in America, written by Coates to his 15 year old son. I listened to the author read this —to hear it in his voice was very moving. I highly recommend this read for those seeking to understand white privilege and seeking a change in our society.
My heart ached as I read Ta-Nehisi Coates story. He chronicles his life for his son, explaining why he believes he is the way he is.
This book may be hard to read (especially for Caucasian/ white audience) but is well worth the effort. Revealing.
Every one should read this book to end prejudice everywhere
Coates is a prolific wordsmith who is able to articulate the struggle inherent in the raising of boys with black skin. His personal testimony is universal, timely, poignant, and relatable. The predictive nature of his writing tells us that he has dug deep into the pores of injustice, even while painful and at times unbearable to relive. His “soul on ice” gives us the courage to confront this hot topic with clarity and a new-found sense of courage. You will want to re-read this book several times because of the poetic style of writing, making it both informative and engaging.
Beautifully written narrative of the Black experience written by the author to his son. I need to read it again to fully absorb how much detail was packed into every sentence.
The man tries too hard! You can tell he is using language in a way that is awkward for him. It makes most of the chapters — that are written in that ‘speak’ — irritating and unreadable.
A brilliant writer.