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What book did you just start?
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
last updated Feb 27, 2024 08:11PM
What Members Thought
I've been a fan of Ta-Nehisi Coates' writing for awhile based on a few things I'd read of his in the Atlantic. He always has a really interesting and thoughtful perspective. I was so happy to hear about this book which I think may well be one of the most important books for Americans to read this year. Given what is happening in our country today, this book should be required reading for all of us.
I love that the framework of the book is the author writing to his son about his experiences as a ...more
I love that the framework of the book is the author writing to his son about his experiences as a ...more
As another reviewer here (Lexi) put it: Holy shit this book. I know that Toni Morrison called it "required reading," and it really is. In the footsteps of Baldwin, in memory of Malcolm, this is a stunning, profound, and powerful memoir/missive. Coates wrote this book in the form of a letter to his son, but it is a letter to all of us. It's the most articulate, raw, brutal, and brilliant statement about race in America I can imagine. The skill of the writer and the power of language are evident i
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I borrowed this book from the library but I need to own a copy. I've already told my son he should read it and as I was leaving the library today saw one of the Sociology professors from the university where I work. Evidently I did such a good job, he rushed to the counter to see if he could check it out.
Because of the the wording of this book, I kept wondering about the old rule that one drop of negro blood made someone a negro. How white are the rest of us? What is in our background that we do ...more
Because of the the wording of this book, I kept wondering about the old rule that one drop of negro blood made someone a negro. How white are the rest of us? What is in our background that we do ...more
I don't even want to review this book because I don't know what I could say that would not trivialize it. It's incredibly powerful and visceral and raw and disturbing and challenging and it should be required reading for everyone.
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Jul 25, 2015
Melissa
rated it
it was amazing
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review of another edition
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Wow. Every word, wow. So important and should be read by every person.
A clear-eyed call-and-response to "The Fire Next Time," straightforward and analytical as well as personal and passionate. Coates is such an eloquent writer that one (this reader at least) may be surprised to find he left college. He is as talented a writer as any from Bread Loaf or the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
I appreciated hearing this in his voice after reading it shortly after its publication six years ago this week. So much has happened just within the last year (Ahmaud Arbery, killed while ...more
I appreciated hearing this in his voice after reading it shortly after its publication six years ago this week. So much has happened just within the last year (Ahmaud Arbery, killed while ...more
Very insightful read about the historical patterns of racism against blacks in the United States.
Many of Coates' observations broke my heart.
An important read for everyone. ...more
Many of Coates' observations broke my heart.
An important read for everyone. ...more
I agree with the other reviews that this is a very important read for every American. I am a white older female and it was very difficult to read what he has lived through. I am digesting it now and will be contemplating it for a long time ahead.
Aug 10, 2015
Kelly
marked it as to-read
