We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy - Paperback

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We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
  • We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy - Paperback

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy - Paperback

by Ta-Nehisi Coates
$21.00
$21.00

Book Overview

by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Author)

In this "urgently relevant"* collection featuring the landmark essay "The Case for Reparations," 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, 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.

Author Biography

Ta-Nehisi Coates is the author of The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power, The Water Dancer, and Between the World and Me, which won the National Book Award in 2015. He is the recipient of a National Magazine Award and a MacArthur Fellowship. He is currently the Sterling Brown endowed chair at Howard University in the English department.

Number of Pages: 400
Dimensions: 0.9 x 7.9 x 5.1 IN
Publication Date: October 30, 2018
ISBN9780399590573
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates
PublisherOne World
GenreBiography, News & politics, History, and Education
FormatPaperback
PublishedOctober 2018
LanguageENG- English
Pages400
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography History Nonfiction Political Science Social Science

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More by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Between the World and Me

Between the World and Me - Hardcover

Between the World and Me - Hardcover

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About Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent for The Atlantic. His book Between the World and Me won the National Book Award in 2015. Coates is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.

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