∎ Download We Were Eight Years in Power An American Tragedy TaNehisi Coates 9780399590566 Books

We Were Eight Years in Power An American Tragedy TaNehisi Coates 9780399590566 Books

Download As PDF : We Were Eight Years in Power An American Tragedy TaNehisi Coates 9780399590566 Books

In these “urgently relevant essays,”* the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me “reflects on race, Barack Obama’s presidency and its jarring aftermath”*—including the election of Donald Trump.

New York Times Bestseller • Finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times • USA Today • Time • Los Angeles Times • San Francisco Chronicle • Essence • O The Oprah Magazine • The Week • Kirkus Reviews

*Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“We were eight years in power” was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is America’s “first white president.”

But the story of these present-day eight years is not just about presidential politics. This book also examines the new voices, ideas, and movements for justice that emerged over this period—and the effects of the persistent, haunting shadow of our nation’s old and unreconciled history. Coates powerfully examines the events of the Obama era from his intimate and revealing perspective—the point of view of a young writer who begins the journey in an unemployment office in Harlem and ends it in the Oval Office, interviewing a president.

We Were Eight Years in Power features Coates’s iconic essays first published in The Atlantic, including “Fear of a Black President,” “The Case for Reparations,” and “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,” along with eight fresh essays that revisit each year of the Obama administration through Coates’s own experiences, observations, and intellectual development, capped by a bracingly original assessment of the election that fully illuminated the tragedy of the Obama era. We Were Eight Years in Power is a vital account of modern America, from one of the definitive voices of this historic moment.

“Essential . . . Coates’s probing essays about race, politics, and history became necessary ballast for this nation’s gravity-defying moment.”—The Boston Globe 

We Were Eight Years in Power An American Tragedy TaNehisi Coates 9780399590566 Books

I became familiar with Mr. Coates when I read the 'reparations' article in "The Atlantic" while visiting my sister's house. This book is a more comprehensive look at the horror and degradation inflicted by white America on those of African (or native American, or . . . ) descent, ie, anybody else of less than totally white background and appearance. As a 70 year old white guy, I'm amazed and ashamed that this oppression continues almost unabated until this day, without ever having become a thing that our alleged 'better natures' would not have overcome. But no, as you read this indictment of the non-unitedness of the United States, it becomes clear that, from the founding fathers on, we have been a nation of, by, and for white people, without any real regard for the way that people of color (you know, any of those non-white ones) are treated. It's enormously sad and shameful that a nation of such high stated principles would allow itself to become the racist place that is in evidence pretty much everywhere you look. I think that everyone should read this book and keep close in memory the realities that it documents. We REALLY should be doing better for our brother and sister citizens. Truth is though, that we're not, and that's a huge part of what this book is about. It's a staggeringly painful and revealing piece of writing.

In some movie, some character asks of some jury "Now, imagine if she was white". You may have seen the movie, and understood the starkness of the contrast between what was being asked and the reality of what was. That's where we are as a nation, and where we all are as citizens. Try to imagine how tolerable those centuries of indignities would be if inflicted on ANY member of your family. If you're white, you really DO have to imagine, if you're not, no imagination is required - it's what you live.

I wish Mr. Coates well in continuing to try to educate the population at large, and hope that his message gets absorbed by people who might otherwise not know what has been and still is, going on. It's much too easy to be white and not really know about the depth and duration of this problem; WAY easier than it should be. Think of this book as the textbook for "Black Studies for White Folks" 1A. Spend some time with this book and get yourself up to speed.


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We Were Eight Years in Power An American Tragedy TaNehisi Coates 9780399590566 Books Reviews

One of the best books I've ever read! Mr. Coates has a rhythmic, poetic way with words that make reading this very harsh information almost pleasurable. This is the kind of book that I will gift to young people that need to know the truth of this country's history...that would be ALL young people!
This is a book every white person needs to read. It will hurt. But that is as it should be. We live in an apartheid state. This man can think. And write. His prose is often pleasingly lyrical, even when weighing heavy matters. I find myself wanting to read it aloud. If I were younger, I might say his prose, when it flows, sounds like hip hop, but since I am older than the author, I’d have to say it sounds like jazz to me. Not John Coltrane. More like Miles Davis.
"We were eight years in power" is a quote from South Carolina state congressman Thomas Miller, an African-American who was elected at the end of Reconstruction. He was highlighting the achievements made during Reconstruction, arguing against the disenfranchisement of black voters. They had built schools, established charities, educated the deaf and dumb, and built infrastructure. But his very argument was a threat to white supremacy. Coates quotes W.E.B. DuBois in his book "If there was one thing that South Carolina feared more than bad Negro government, it was good Negro government."

This incomplete & halted era of reconstruction is the framework against which Ta-Nehisi Coates sets his book. He pulls eight essays written around the eight years of the Obama presidency, and shows how "the symbolic power of Barack Obama's presidency - that whiteness was no longer strong enough to prevent peons from taking up residence in the castle - assaulted the most deeply rooted notions of white supremacy and instilled fear in its adherents and beneficiaries."

The essays chosen for the book tackle a myriad of topics the erasure of black history, mass incarceration, what it means to be black in the public eye, and, in my opinion the most compelling essay of them all, the case for reparations. Coates provides notes before each essay, explaining the context in which they were written, why they were relevant then, and why they are relevant now. The book shows an evolution, both in Coates' writing and thought, but also in the national conversation surrounding race, swirling towards the final chapter & epilogue, in which Donald Trump, the main force behind birtherism and much of the racist drum-beating, has been elected president.

This book is brilliantly written, incisive, and extremely relevant. Read it with your families, use it in your classrooms, and give copies to your friends.
This book is truly exceptional in so many ways. It is a dense read, so prepare for that. All of the essays were published in The Atlantic and I had read some of them. What makes this book particularly remarkable besides Coates' exceptional writing, is what I call the pre-chapters to the essays. Here, Coates' shares what he was reading, thinking, working on in terms of his writing, and how he thinks the essay held up over time. These reflections are especially poignant and help the reader get a glimpse into the inner workings of Coates' thinking and piecing it together. The book really comes together in the last 2-3 chapters and is absolutely resplendent. I recommend this book for anyone exploring the current state of affairs in the U.S. regarding race and racism, white supremacy, and all the ways in which these systems suppress people of color in sometimes the most violent of ways. However, I also recommend this book to people trying to figure out how to reflect on their own work because I think these pre-chapters are an excellent example of the deep dive into meta-cognitive processes and recognizes that we are all a work in progress. Happy reading!
I became familiar with Mr. Coates when I read the 'reparations' article in "The Atlantic" while visiting my sister's house. This book is a more comprehensive look at the horror and degradation inflicted by white America on those of African (or native American, or . . . ) descent, ie, anybody else of less than totally white background and appearance. As a 70 year old white guy, I'm amazed and ashamed that this oppression continues almost unabated until this day, without ever having become a thing that our alleged 'better natures' would not have overcome. But no, as you read this indictment of the non-unitedness of the United States, it becomes clear that, from the founding fathers on, we have been a nation of, by, and for white people, without any real regard for the way that people of color (you know, any of those non-white ones) are treated. It's enormously sad and shameful that a nation of such high stated principles would allow itself to become the racist place that is in evidence pretty much everywhere you look. I think that everyone should read this book and keep close in memory the realities that it documents. We REALLY should be doing better for our brother and sister citizens. Truth is though, that we're not, and that's a huge part of what this book is about. It's a staggeringly painful and revealing piece of writing.

In some movie, some character asks of some jury "Now, imagine if she was white". You may have seen the movie, and understood the starkness of the contrast between what was being asked and the reality of what was. That's where we are as a nation, and where we all are as citizens. Try to imagine how tolerable those centuries of indignities would be if inflicted on ANY member of your family. If you're white, you really DO have to imagine, if you're not, no imagination is required - it's what you live.

I wish Mr. Coates well in continuing to try to educate the population at large, and hope that his message gets absorbed by people who might otherwise not know what has been and still is, going on. It's much too easy to be white and not really know about the depth and duration of this problem; WAY easier than it should be. Think of this book as the textbook for "Black Studies for White Folks" 1A. Spend some time with this book and get yourself up to speed.