We Were Eight Years in Power

May 1, 2017

Coates follows up his National Book Award-winning Between the World and Me with essays that sweep through the Obama era. Included are annotated versions of much-discussed pieces he wrote for the Atlantic, including "Fear of a Black President"; two new essays that reassess the Obama era and consider what's to come; and a think piece based on Coates's interviews with President Obama during his final year in office.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 14, 2017
National Book Award-winner Coates (Between the World and Me) collects eight essays originally published in the Atlantic between 2008 and 2016, marking roughly the early optimism of Barack Obama's presidency and the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. The selection includes blockbusters like "The Case for Reparations" and "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration," which helped to establish Coates as one of the leading writers on race in America, as well as lesser-known pieces such as his profile of Bill Cosby (written in late 2008, before the reemergence of rape allegations against Cosby) and a piece on Michelle Obama before she became first lady. The essays are prefaced with new introductions that trace the articles from conception to publication and beyond. With hindsight, Coates examines the roots of his ideas ("Had I been wrong?" he writes, questioning his initial optimism about the Obama Administration) and moments of personal history that relay the influence of hip-hop, the books he read, and the blog he maintained on his writing. Though the essays are about a particular period, Coates's themes reflect broader social and political phenomena. It's this timeless timeliness--reminiscent of the work of George Orwell and James Baldwin--that makes Coates worth reading again and again. (Oct.)

This review has been corrected; an earlier version said he won the Pulitzer Prize, for which he was nominated; in fact he won the National Book Award.

November 15, 2017

In his second book, Coates (correspondent for the Atlantic; author of Between the World and Me [a 2016 LJ Best Book]) gathers eight formerly published essays, one for each year of Barack Obama's presidency, together with framing commentary and reflection. The author's growing prominence as a writer and public intellectual coincided with (and, Coates argues, was made possible by) the Obama era. Thus, this volume documents both the personal growth of Coates as a thinker and also our national struggle to reckon with the politics of race and racism. Readers of the author's work will find familiar friends in this collection: essays on Bill Cosby, Michelle Obama, the Civil War, Malcolm X, Barack Obama, reparations, the carceral state, and Donald Trump. The contextualizing matter--part autobiography, part political commentary--pulls back between each piece to consider how the author's thinking has evolved since. Admirers of Coates will appreciate this fresh perspective on his process; new readers will find much to reflect on. As always, Coates's narratives are densely woven conversations with the work of historians and other chroniclers of black experience in the United States. VERDICT A timely collection that challenges us to take an honest accounting of our collective past.--Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook, Massachusetts Historical Soc.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2017
However stunned the nation was to see a Donald Trump presidency follow that of Barack Obama, MacArthur fellow Coates (Between the World and Me, 2015) sees historical parallels that make the severe swing seem more predictable. The Reconstruction Era after the Civil War, with its influx of black legislators and progressive ideals, was followed by a severe backlash comparable to the modern political scene. Coates' collection of his essays from the past decade examine the recurrence of certain themes in the black community, the need for uplift and self-reliance, the debate between liberals and conservatives about the right approach to racism, and the virulent reaction in some quarters to any signs of racial progress. In essays on Bill Cosby, Barack and Michelle Obama, Donald Trump, and others, Coates examines historical patterns. As he charts social changes, Coates also offers a fascinating look at his own transformation as a black man and a writer. Before each essay, Coates provides context in light of recent political developments and concludes with an epilogue on the post-Obama era, noting that the Obama presidency aligned with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, America's preeminent existential crisis. 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.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: National Book Award-winning Coates is 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

Starred review from August 15, 2017
Biting cultural and political analysis from the award-winning journalist.Coates (Between the World and Me, 2015, etc.), a MacArthur Fellow and winner of the National Book Award and Kirkus Prize, reflects on race, Barack Obama's presidency and its jarring aftermath, and his own evolution as a writer in eight stunningly incisive essays, most of which were published in the Atlantic, where he is national correspondent. He contextualizes each piece with candid personal revelations, making the volume a melding of memoir and critique. The opening essay focuses on Bill Cosby's famous effort to shake black men "out of the torpor that has left so many of them...undereducated, over-incarcerated, and underrepresented in the ranks of active fathers." Cosby's black conservatism, writes the author, reflected "a collective feeling of disgrace that borders on self-hatred." Obama's ascent, though, felt like "the wind shifting," and it coincided with Coates' visibility as a writer. After writing a profile of Michelle Obama ("American Girl"), he started a blog that came to the Atlantic's attention and soon joined the magazine. After "Fear of a Black President" won a National Magazine Award in 2012, Coates was sought out as a public intellectual for his insights about race. His conclusions are disquieting, his writing passionate, his tenor often angry: "white supremacy," he argues, "was so foundational to this country that it would not be defeated in my lifetime, my child's lifetime, or perhaps ever." He considers "The Case for Reparations" to be "the best piece in this volume to my mind," but surely "My President is Black," his assessment of Obama ("he walked on ice and never fell") and crude, boorish Trump, is a close contender. Coates considers bigotry to be the deciding factor in Trump's appeal. "It is almost as if the fact of Obama, the fact of a black president, insulted Trump personally," and he unleashed violent resentment among his supporters. Although Coates subtitles the book "An American Tragedy," he allows a ray of hope for "a resistance intolerant of self-exoneration, set against blinding itself to evil." Emotionally charged, deftly crafted, and urgently relevant essays.

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