We Were Eight Years in Power. An American Tragedy

Description

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 BestsellerOne of Time's Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of the Year "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,...