This book is a collection of essays, one from every year of the Obama presidency, preceded by Coates's commentary. It ends with a devastating epilogue on Trump's presidency called "The First White President." In my opinion, the best part is Chapter 6, "The Case for Reparations," the type of essay that can fundamentally change the way you understand America. You can read this in the Atlantic right now: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/ All of the essays here were originally published in the Atlantic, actually. The whole book is fairly dense, but not overly academic. Because the bulk of the book was published individually beforehand, it's somewhat repetitive at times. I think this is a must-read for all Americans, but the format and denseness, at times, may not be for everyone, and lends itself to reading one chapter at a time rather than taking all the chapters together. I am looking forward to reading more of his books in 2020.

A book everyone should read. Thought provoking,intelligent, and scathing in its lens. Coates is equal parts celebrated and controversial in his essays and his work is an important part of understanding current events in the United States.

I always learn by reading authors who have a different background than I do. Made me look at the eight years of the Obama administration through a filter I never would have had access to otherwise, and I sincerely appreciate that.

Good read. Not as much of a personal lens as his first book but enjoyed it.

While audiobook was a great format for this collection, I also wish that I had the pages in front of me to mark up, meditate on, and copy for remembrance. Coates' in-depth reporting over the Obama years was compelling and thought-provoking. Couched in the tragic aftermath, each essay and year seemed even more fraught and full of portent.

"A Case for Reparations" should be a must-read for every single American.

This is more than a curation of Coates’s articles. Before each of the 8 (published during a year of the Obama administration—8 years in power is a phrase from a reconstruction era elected official) he writes a memoir reflecting on the piece, like his state of mind at the time or what he would write differently. These are original memoir style introductions. All are thoughtful and add a lot of depth to the original pieces. The curation is also valuable and better than reading the articles individually. Some of his famous essays are in here, and some I hadn’t read. The quality of writing and substance and longitudinal context of everything written of is, of course, great.

There's something very special about the way Ta-Nehisi Coates writes. He seamlessly weaves his worldview into detailed, fact-based reporting on highly complex social systems. His voice is weighty and crucial as he explores American history and what it inevitably teaches us about our grim future. I appreciate that Coates' works are rich with emotion and raw with honesty. Coates wrestles with his own thoughts, the thoughts of intellects who came before him, and is never satisfied with easy answers (especially answers created to lull the conscience of the masses) . He has no shame in calling out White America and everyone/everything that contributes to the protection of what he calls the "bloody heirloom" i.e. whiteness.

After Obama's eight years in office he ultimately lands on a pessimistic view that we as a country, are never going to address the spiraling harms birthed from centuries of oppressing black people and the reparations that should be due as a result. Coates believes resistance is necessary and good in and of itself, regardless of whether it achieves any form of "progress." Actually, Coates doesn't seem to believe much in progress at all. Although I don't fully subscribe to Coates' worldview, I appreciate his voice, perspective, diligence, and honesty.

This is Ta-Nehisi Coates' newest novel chronicling the eight years of Barack Obama's presidency, through his eight-part book- each part representing one year of the presidency. While this lacks the same concentrated power found in his previous works, it still packs a punch with its sobering look at racism in America, even during a time when a Black man was our president. Each of the eight parts consists of one of his essays that were released in the corresponding year, as well as some prefacing notes. This was a bit harder for me to get through than his other work- in part because it was a bit drawn-out and in part because oh my god what is our world. But it is such an important work that I believe will be read for years to come.

*Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*