Such extraordinary work! Ta-Nehisi Coates continues to live up to his impressive reputation with this insightful book. He effectively deconstructs how white America continues its legacy!

We Were Eight Years in Power begins with this note of explanation:
"This book takes its title from the words of South Carolina congressman Thomas Miller. In 1895 as his state moved away from the egalitarian innovations of Reconstruction to an oppressive 'redemption,' Miller appealed to the state's constitutional convention: 'We were eight years in power..."

Miller then went on to list the many advances that had been accomplished while black people had the blessing of governmental support during the period of Reconstruction ... and how fragile and vulnerable those advances were as the government threatened to remove that support. Prophetically, Miller's fears were fully realized (and much more) when we entered a period of "terrorism" with the dissolution of Reconstruction and the beginning of Jim Crow. Throughout Coates' new book he makes a connection between this period of our history and the one we are now entering:

"the argument made in much of this book is that Good Negro Government - personal and political - often augments the very white supremacy it seeks to combat."

Coates is a correspondent for the Atlantic and he wrote eight important essays during the span of President Obama's eight years in office. This book brings together those eight essays for the first time, which is a brilliant idea. Reading these essays in order, with no other topics between them (as you might on the blog), clearly reveals Coates' own growth in thought and understanding as he wrestles with the many facets of a complex topic. While extending and expanding the topic itself, he is still able to crystallize one salient point. By the eighth essay there is a sense of completion and clarity that justifies the "one-two" gut punches that just keep coming in the final pages.

But not only do those eight essays work powerfully together, Coates inserts himself (currently) between each essay to introduce it, looking backwards and forwards with us, taking the reader around the events that originally inspired the work while also bringing us up to date, making it clear why these eight essays were chosen and why they still matter and should still interest us in this new era of life and politics in America.

One thing that I appreciate about Coates' work is that he is unapologetic about how he writes for his own satisfaction: he is seeking knowledge, and writing is part of that process for him. He is honest and forthright about his work being a "process" because HE is "in process." For most Americans who are used to quick fixes freely offered on every soundbyte, streetcorner and blog post, his refusal to shrink his writing to a simplistic form of "solutionism" can be frustrating. Personally, I find it refreshing. True, any student who is willing and anxious to learn must necessarily go through a very uncomfortable phase of uncertainty and maybe even confusion before any light starts to dawn, and that is a hard thing to sit still through quietly. There may not be a tidy solution, but there is a payoff at the end if you can make it that far. (Coates described this discomfort well when he wrote about how we betray the wonder when we "privilege the appearance of knowing over the work of finding out...") This book feels like a big wrestle that climaxes and then releases into the peace that comes with knowing. We see and feel the author gathering, grappling, connecting, synthesizing, and WORKING through the significance of his conclusions... and I, the reader, felt that release, as well.

I think his future work will only get bigger in scope, and this inspires and motivates me to keep learning, too. Thankfully, Coates generously shares with his readers where his own wanderings take him and where he finds inspiration. His footnotes are a fountain of opportunity. If you are looking to be educated, you can keep learning for quite a long time by following his trail of crumbs.


Essays in this book include:

1. This is How We Lost to the White Man

2. American Girl

3. Why Do So Few Blacks Study the Civil War?

4. Legacy of Malcolm X

5. Fear of a Black President

6. Case for Reparations

7. The Black Family in the Age of Incarceration

8. My President was Black

Coates wrote: "... a question - from other black writers and readers and a voice inside me now began to hover over my work - why do white people like what I write? The question would eventually overshadow the work, or maybe it just felt like it did."

It strikes me as I type out the titles of those eight essays how they might sound intimidating to a white reader. For myself, there were some things that I wanted to know so badly that I was willing to feel intimidated if I needed to, in order to find some answers. But I can imagine how Coates might wonder why this would be something a middle-aged, suburban, white woman might be interested in.

In a Longform podcast interview, Coates told a story about being on the subway, ready to put in his ear buds, when a "middle-aged white dude" (who didn't even know how to pronounce "Ta-Nehesi") approached him, "Are you Ta-Nehesi Coates?" he asked... and then a short conversation occured in which this man simply said, "I had no idea. I thank you for doing what you're doing... keep doing it... you're doing a great service." And then another man chimed in: "I want to second that. I'm a lawyer downtown, and I really want to thank you for what you're doing."

That is exactly how I feel... and that is exactly why I am interested. I had no idea. And I'm so thankful to receive this gift of knowledge that I know did not come easily from the giver.


"Now we have half-stepped away from our long centuries of despoilment, promising never again. But still we are haunted. It is as though we have run up a credit card bill and, having pledged to charge no more, remain befuddled that the balance does not disappear. The effects of that balance, interest accruing daily, are all around us..."

I'm a big fan of Coates' writing and this book is an excellent collection of some of his most groundbreaking work for the Atlantic. It also includes memoir-style commentary from Coates on his career and rise to prominence as one of the most notable writers and thinkers of our time, as well as his growing relationship with President Obama. You might note that if you've been following Coates' writing for a while, this won't all be new material for you. However, it's fascinating to read his essays from a span of eight years in chronological order with social and political context.

I am a fan of Ta-Nehisi Coates and have recommended Between the World and Me countless times. This collection contains 16 pieces of his political commentary that correspond to each year of the Obama presidency (2 each). While I appreciate his work and insight, I found this a bit hard to follow, I constantly needed to remind myself about the year in which he was writing and there were moments that his reflections on the pieces he wrote reflecting on what was going on became just too meta for me. Recommended primarily for audiences of Coates' work and for those interested in political essays.

How can I give this six stars? How is it that we are so ignorant of the history of privilege that caused and continues the racial divide in this country? This is an absolute must read.

Coates chose essays he wrote during each year of Obama's presidency and added introductions that explain his thinking at the time and what has changed since. The epilogue analyzes the election of Donald Trump in an honest way that gets past the apologists and looks the horrific side of our national heritage and ongoing inability to admit wrong in the face. Words fail...

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

From my Goodreads review:

Review Rarely am I truly blown away by a book, but Ta-Nehisi Coates' latest should be required reading for all.

I've never been naive about US history and its not-so-nice to outright genocidal actions that this country is capable of since and before its founding. Over the last few years, however, I have developed a better understanding of the consequences of these deeds. My insular little world rarely ever had exposure to this world, except through books and film.

This book reminds me I can't be silent, but whenever I open my mouth, my words fail me. I wish I could just channel passages from this book.

Please read this book. Yes, it will make you uncomfortable and you might not agree with everything, but you will be a sadder, if not a bit wiser, person when you finish.

TNC's reflections and meditations on life during the Obama presidency along with his compelling longform articles from The Atlantic during this period.

TNC derives the title from the experience of black Americans in the South during Reconstruction, one of whom spoke of being in power eight years before Reconstruction collapsed and white supremacy was re-established. He has a series of reflections on each year of the Obama presidency, providing his first person narration of the arc of his own career and life as it aligned with national events. After the reflection comes one of the articles: on Bill Cosby, on Michelle Obama, on Obama as a black president, his case for reparations, the black family in the age of mass incarceration, and his interviews with Obama toward the end of his tenure, and others.

In the epilogue TNC attempts most fully and forcefully to come to terms with the election of Trump; he makes a powerful case, however inconvenient to modern sensibilities on both sides of the aisle, that white supremacy is the evidence-based explanation for both Trump's candidacy and victory.

TNC writes in his usual no-holds-barred yet personal style. A compelling book which will no doubt inform the national dialogue, at least to some extent, about what happened in 2008-2016 and the way forward.

I read most of the essays when they were published in the Atlantic, but I did appreciate the inclusion of "introductions" to each in this book. The introductions helped to better understand the author's POV, made reading very enjoyable, informative, and solidifies my belief that everyone should read his words.

"We Were Eight Years in Power" is a very powerful collection of some of the articles written by Ta-Nehisi Coates for The Atlantic during the Obama presidency. Most of the essays directly focus on the role race played in the presidency. Each essay is presented with a new short introduction written after the original, a kind of critique of the original piece, an evaluation which can only arise through hindsight. This book will be a great addition to the literature that has arisen from the Black Lives Matter movement because it offers a synthesis of racism in the United States from slavery to the present day. It also really highlights the conflicting opinions and disappointments that Coates and many others experienced during the Obama presidency. The initial hope and elation that many experienced seeing the first African American U.S. President move into the White House gradually gave way to the sadness and outrage witnessed while young black men were killed by vigilante neighbors and systematically by racist police officers. This is important book for also understanding how the Trump administration is a dangerous and hateful reaction from the radical right to the Obama administration, a way to push back on the gains made during those eight years and to reenforce white supremacy.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ta-Nehisi Coates first hit my radar a few years ago when his book, Between the World and Me was blowing up the bestseller lists. When I saw he had this new book coming out I immediately requested a copy from the publisher and crossed my fingers. Happily, my request was approved and I dove right in the same weekend the city of Charlotteville in my home state of Virginia was overrun by white supremacists.

We Were 8 Years in Power: An American Tragedy, takes its name from a speech given in 1895 by South Carolina congressman Thomas Miller. He stated,

"We were eight years in power. We had built schoolhouses, established charitable institutions, built and maintained the penitentiary system, provided for the education of the deaf and dumb, rebuilt the ferries. In short, we had reconstructed the State and place it upon the road to prosperity."

Coates takes this quote and ties his collection of essays together around it. The format is simple - a re-printing of 8 of his pieces from The Atlantic, one for each year of the Obama presidency, along with a reflective introduction to each. Coates is hard on himself when it comes to his earlier work and is unflinchingly honest about why he believes he's been a success. At times he gives himself too little credit and forgets (or is too humble to admit) that at least part of his success is due to his great talent for writing. There is a progression in skill to be seen here, but the raw talent for the written word shines through from even the earliest piece.

I could actually write about this book for days. I loved it. I think everyone should read it with an open mind. I think it's going to be polarizing though because a lot of white people are going to hate it. Coates is unafraid of peeling back the mask and showing the ugly supremacist foundation our country has been built on and refuses to acknowledge. He tackles racism head on and doesn't sugar-coat his feelings in deference to white fragility. Some will find that hard to swallow. Sadly, those are the ones who need to absorb his message the most.

I read that Coates is now working on an historical fiction novel. I can't wait to add it to my to-read stack as soon as the title and pre-order date are released.

We Were 8 Years In Power will be available at all booksellers on October 3, 2017.

We Were Eight Years in Power is a collection of essays, written during the eight years of the Obama presidency. As a longtime subscriber to The Atlantic, I had read several of these pieces previously. The book does offer a substantial amount of new material: an introduction, epilogue, and lengthy "notes" by the author before each essay.

The essays are uniformly excellent and thought provoking. "My President Was Black" is a must-read reflection on the role race plays in US politics, and the author's own sometimes conflicting feelings about the first black president. The notes sections are more of a mixed bag. They are at their best when the author uses the space to take a fresh look at his previously published works, which he does frequently during the early chapters. Some of the later notes are less focused and therefore less poignant.

Readers of the excellent Between the World and Me will already be familiar with the author's life, opinions and political leanings, so much of the content here that is unique to this book concerns the twilight of the Obama era and the rise of Donald Trump. Ta-Nehisi Coates is an important voice of dissent in the Trump era. Sadly, he will likely have much more to write about in the coming years.

Such a sad description of the events that happens before during and little after the elections of Barack Obama, such a disillusionment after the election of trump; I like the way the author has to put everything in perspective, but as I just came back from one month in the U.S., the situation is pretty dire out there and this book helped me understand why people voted for who is even worse than berlusconi ever was, and that's a lot to say.....

Una triste descrizione degli avvenimenti accaduti prima, durante e dopo gli anni di Barack Obama alla casa bianca, una totale devastazione al risultato delle ultime elezioni, ma questo libro nella sua lucida disamina degli eventi, mi ha aiutato a capire come mai la gente abbia votato per trump che é addirittura peggiore di quanto berlusconi sia mai stato, che é dire proprio tanto....

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

I remember reading most of these pieces when they appeared in The Atlantic, and it's great to have them collected in one place with the through line of the Obama presidency and Coates' development as a writer and a scholar. The introductions to each essay add new insight - I really like seeing Coates' views of which pieces are stronger and weaker and why. The intro pieces provide new depth without being too long. The epilogue is fresh and stunning.

I've been assigning "The Case for Reparations" in my Cultural Studies class since it was published in 2014, and I can see this collection being useful in many different kinds of classes - Literature, Writing, Africana Studies (formerly African-American Studies at my university), Political Science, and more.

We Were Eight Years in Power is a compilation of eight essays Coates published with The Atlantic. Each essay is preceded by an introductory chapter that explains why he wrote the piece, what was going on in his life, and how his perspective has changed since it was published. These "blog post-like" tidbits have an almost memoir-like quality to them, offering behind-the-scenes insight into the writing process and allowing Coates an opportunity to vent frustrations unconstrained by the more diplomatic, expository tone of the essays.

Inevitably this book will be compared to Coates' award-winning Between the World and Me as they both ruminate on racial tension in the United States. But where Between the World and Me is deeply personal, raw, poetic and often bombastically esoteric, We Were Eight Years in Power feels more academic. Beautifully written and immensely powerful, it marries heavily-researched longform journalism and unapologetic sermonizing. The essays cover a wide swathe of topics that include meditations on what it means to elect a black president, brief biographies of Malcom X and the Obamas, a case for reparations, and an appeal to recognize the continuous role white supremacy has played in our nation's history.

The title of the work references a post-Civil-War speech given by a member of the Reconstruction legislature in South Carolina. Yet the titular "We" also echoes modern-day citizens hoping for meaningful change in the area of race relations. The parallels abound, as we too are in the midst of an intense backlash and political tidal change following the wake of progress. As we all know, those who refuse to acknowledge history are doomed to repeat it.

”People get ready
For the train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
From coast to coast”

“Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There's room for all
Among those loved the most”
-- “People Get Ready” – Curtis Mayfield

In 1895, South Carolina congressman Thomas Miller appealed to the State’s constitutional convention with these words -

‘We were eight years in power. We had built schoolhouses, established charitable institutions, built and maintained the penitentiary system, provided for the education of the deaf and dumb, rebuilt the ferries. In short, we had reconstructed the State and place it upon the rode to prosperity.’”

The title of this book, this collection of Coates’ essays, comes from this quote.

On 4 November 2008, over one hundred years later, Barack Obama was declared the President-elect.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”
President-elect Barack Obama – 4 November 2008

As in his 2015 “Between the World and Me,” this is a book about race in America. Eight articles written during the eight years of America’s first black presidency, one for each year.

Along with an essay for each year, there are accompanying notes on his life, his thoughts, his frustrations on the then current events around the topic of race, and his thoughts on Barack Obama, the man, before he was President Obama, to his slow recognition that this man might actually become our president, and then through the years of his presidency. The relationship between Obama’s eight years as president followed by the election of Donald Trump.

And now, slightly more than eight years have passed since Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, the first black president of this country. I would have thought that we, as a country, had become more accepting, that those who had feared Obama would be able to look back at the good that had taken place.

”In short, Obama, his family, and his administration were a walking advertisement for the ease with which black could be fully integrated into the unthreatening mainstream of American culture, politics, and myth.
And that was the problem.”

In the past 7 months plus, as I write this, since Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President, I am astonished at how emotionally charged our atmosphere has become, how much has visibly changed, how much more open and visible hatred has become. How timely this book is.

“There ain't no room
For the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind
Just to save his own”
-- “People Get Ready” – Curtis Mayfield

”I have often wondered how I missed the coming tragedy. It is not so much that I should have predicted that Americans would elect Donald Trump. It’s just that I shouldn’t have put it past us.”

A myriad of emotions flowed through me while reading this, sadness to anger, shame, fear, pride, hope. At times this lay heavy on my soul, but more often I found myself re-reading portions to further embrace and internalize his words. Faith, that intangible belief in something bigger and better than us, that’s what Coates words made me reflect upon.

”Have pity on those
Whose chances are thinner
'Cause there's no hiding place
From the kingdom's throne”

“So people get ready
For the train a-comin'
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board”
-- “People Get Ready” – Curtis Mayfield

Recommended


Pub Date: 03 Oct 2017

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group – Random House

While the bulk of this book is made up of previously-published, long-form articles, written by Coates for The Atlantic—three of which, "<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/">The Case for Reparations</a>", "<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/the-black-family-in-the-age-of-mass-incarceration/403246/">The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration</a>", and "<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/01/my-president-was-black/508793/">My President Was Black</a>", I believe every American should read if they have not already—the additional chapters, providing context and commentary on each article and on the periods in which they were written, are of such significant value that the book as a whole is worth the reading.

<b> EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. THIS BOOK SHOULD BE STUDIED IN SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES. THIS IS ESSENTIAL, MUST READ MATERIAL </B>

I cannot stress enough how essential this book is to the world and most importantly to America. This book comes at the most relevant time in America's history and should be read by every American. I am not even American and this book spoke to me in ways I could not imagine. Ta-Nehisi Coates is as Ghostface puts it, "an arsonist who burns with his pen".

The writing in this book is impeccable, it is thoroughly researched and timely. Coates speaks on an American Tragedy- mainly on race issues but everything about this book is eloquently, rich and beautifully put together.

Having read and loved <b> Between The World And Me </b> I knew this book would live up to the hype. Not only that, it is clear that Coates is the voice of this generation, especially on matters concerning race. He is the James Baldwin of our generation and his writings should not be ignored.

I woke up shocked to hear and I am somewhat still in disbelief that Trump is the President of the USA. I remain baffled every single time his is referred to as President, it is like a nightmare that wont end and I cant help but think, "how did this happen?!!!!"... As Coates put its:
<I> "If there was a difference between me and the President, it was that I thought Trump wouldn't win, whereas Obama thought categorically, that he couldn't. What amazes me thinking back on that day is the ease with which two people, knowing full well what this country is capable of, knowing that it had once sent hundreds of thousands off to die in service of slavery, knowing it had looked away during the era of lynching, knowing that it was conceived in slavery, dismissed the possibility of a return to the old form." </I>

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and recommend that everyone goes out and get a copy. This is essential must read material.

Thanks Netgally for the ARC!

A timely collection of essays for Trump's America. Coates does not dance around issues, but digs deep into the core to expose the organs of the problem - the racism inherent in America, the rise of white supremacy, and how Trump's presidency is supported by both. Coates provides a mirror both to look behind us in order to see the past with a more clearly and to look directly at ourselves and how we have been complicit in the system, how we have been complicit in creating today's America. He arms the reader with facts, with knowledge, with historical details to see the American narrative in its honesty in order to apply it to today. An absolute must-read.

Timely. This is one of those books that everyone should read. It makes you re-think and question the things that you hold to be true. I liked the reflections before the actual Atlantic pieces, it put the pieces into context and it was interesting to know how the authors thoughts had developed since the initial writing of the pieces.