We Were Eight Years in Power: 'One of the foremost essayists on race in the West' Nikesh Shukla, author of The Good Immigrant

Description

From Obama to Trump, from black lives matter to the rise of the alt-right - THE definitive state-of-the-nation analysis of modern America From 2008-2016, the leader of the free world was a black man. Obama's presidency was a watershed moment in American history. In those eight years, the political conversation around race, gender, class and wealth shifted drastically - inspiring hope but also attracting criticism and breeding discontent. That discontent ultimately led to a shocking backlash in the election of Donald Trump. In this essential book, Ta-Nehisi Coates takes stock of Obama's eight years in power, brilliantly navigating the intersections of political, ideological and cultural perspectives. And he reflects on his own journey through these years, weaving the public with the private to create a startlingly intimate and piercingly relevant memoir.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent for the Atlantic and the author of the Number One New York Times bestseller, Between the World and Me, winner of the National Book Award, and of the acclaimed essay collection We Were Eight Years in Power. A MacArthur Fellow, Coates has received the National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and the George Polk Award for his Atlantic cover story 'The Case for Reparations'. He lives in New York with his wife and son.

I've been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates -- Toni Morrison on 'Between the World and Me' America's latest literary wunderkind... A prodigious talent * The Sunday Times * We are witnessing greatness. The man and his writing will be studied and revered for generations * Minneapolis Star Tribune * [Coates is] the pre-eminent black public intellectual of his generation * The New York Times * We Were Eight Years in Power is an essential text to understand America today * W Magazine * Ta-Nehisi Coates is probably the only magazine writer in the world whose articles are heralded with the same fervor as the release of the latest Beyonce album * Financial Times * A wake up call... More compelling than almost any other public voice about the state we're in. He eloquently conflates the personal, political and existential, while telling it like it is * Observer * Coates eloquently unfurls blunt truths... To have such a voice, in such a moment, is a ray of light * USA Today * Coates succeeds twice over, in justifying not only his account of one election, but the importance of his entire body of work * New Statesman * Brilliant and troubling... Required reading * Vogue * Coates' always sharp commentary is particularly insightful as each day brings a new upset to the cultural and political landscape laid during the term of the nation's first black president. [A] crucial voice in the public discussion of race and equality, and readers will be eager for his take on where we stand now and why * Booklist * It's this timeless timeliness--reminiscent of the work of George Orwell and James Baldwin--that makes Coates worth reading again and again * Publishers Weekly * Fiercely passionate, intelligent and clear-eyed * Newsday * Across his oeuvre, Coates' prose style and literary prowess are hip-hop sharpened: he believes in the art of dexterous reference, potent, lyrical critique and political storytelling * Baltimore Sun * Coates's probing essays about race, politics, and history became necessary ballast for this nation's gravity-defying moment... Essential * The Boston Globe * Biting cultural and political analysis from the award-winning journalist . . . His conclusions are disquieting, his writing passionate, his tenor often angry.... Emotionally charged, deftly crafted, and urgently relevant essays" * Kirkus * Powerfully charged * GQ * [R]aw and hard to read. You'll never forget his point of view, nor should you * Glamour * Thus, We Were Eight Years in Power serves as a clarion call for vigilance about the possible erosion of African-American advances presumed sacrosanct. Consider these riveting, well-reasoned ruminations of the most-prodigious black visionary around a must-read indeed * The Mississippi Link *