#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 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.
Between the World and Me: Notes on the First Year of My Son's Life is a 2015 memoir by American author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates. The book is written in the form of a letter to the author's teenage son, Samori, and explores the author's experiences as a black man in America, as well as the history of racism in the United States.
Coates begins the book by recounting his own childhood in Baltimore, Maryland, and the ways in which he was taught to be afraid of the "police and the other.". He goes on to discuss the history of slavery and Jim Crow in the United States, and the ways in which these institutions have shaped the lives of black Americans. He also writes about the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing struggle for racial justice in America.
Between the World and Me is a powerful and moving account of the experience of being black in America. The book is written with passion and intelligence, and it is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the history of racism in the United States and the ongoing struggle for racial justice.
Some of the key themes explored in the book include:
- The history of racism in the United States: Coates provides a detailed and unflinching account of the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the ongoing struggle for racial justice in America.
- The experience of being black in America: Coates writes about his own experiences as a black man in America, and the ways in which he has been shaped by racism.
- The importance of black resistance: Coates argues that black resistance is essential to the struggle for racial justice. He writes about the importance of black protest, black art, and black culture.
- The need for hope: Coates ends the book on a note of hope. He writes that he believes that America can overcome its history of racism and create a more just and equitable society.
Between the World and Me is a powerful and moving book that is sure to stay with you long after you finish reading it. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the history of racism in the United States and the ongoing struggle for racial justice.
