We Were Eight Years in Power

An American Tragedy

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Ta-Nehisi Coates: We Were Eight Years in Power (2017, Penguin Books, Limited)

384 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 2017 by Penguin Books, Limited.

ISBN:
978-0-241-32523-0
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5 stars (2 reviews)

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

8 editions

Review of 'We Were Eight Years in Power' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

In many ways "We Were Eight Years In Power" has been a fitting capstone to the year. Two of Coates' essays delved into subjects I had read about this year: Malcolm X and Michelle Obama. To have these people reviewed through another perspective - especially a perspective as intellectually rigourous as Coates - deepened my understanding of both. The other essays in this collection were likewise thought provoking. I had, to some extent, been aware of the way the U.S. structurely disadvantages people of color and black people in specific. The author hammered home the details of this system, and does so with poignancy, that fleshed out my understanding of history and deepened my anger. A couple takeaways:

One of the potential flaws of liberalism is the assumption that taking a color-blind approach to policy will result in a colorblind impact. However, Coates provides ample detail on how policies that …

Subjects

  • United states, politics and government, 2009-2017
  • Obama, barack, 1961-
  • African americans, social conditions
  • United states, race relations