Between the World and me

Locations
Call Number: 305.8 Co, Black Studies 305.8 Co, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Coates, Ta-Nehisi
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Co	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Co	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Co	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Co	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Co	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.8 Co	4-week checkout	Due 05-06-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Black Studies 305.8 Co	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Coates, Ta-Nehisi	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Coates, Ta-Nehisi	4-week checkout	Due 05-18-2024
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Coates, Ta-Nehisi	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Coates, Ta-Nehisi	4-week checkout	Due 05-02-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Coates, Ta-Nehisi	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Coates, Ta-Nehisi	4-week checkout	Due 05-11-2024

Prologue : the talk -- PART 1. BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME. The changes -- The second change : Malcolm and the body -- The third change : Mecca and the death of mythology -- PART 2. THE SOOTY DETAILS OF THE SCENE. The fourth change : New York and the death of mercy -- The fifth change : Gettysburg and the long war -- The sixth change : Chicago and the streets -- PART 3. A GRASSY CLEARING. The seventh change : eyes open to the world -- The eighth change : the blast -- Epilogue : into the world.
"For Ta-Nehisi Coates, history has always been personal. At every stage of his life, he's sought in his explorations of history answers to the mysteries that surrounded him--most urgently, why he, and other black people he knew, seemed to live in fear ... In [this book], Coates takes readers along on his journey through America's history of race and its contemporary resonances through a series of awakenings--moments when he discovered some new truth about our long, tangled history of race, whether through his myth-busting professors at Howard University, a trip to a Civil War battlefield with a rogue historian, a journey to Chicago's South Side to visit aging survivors of 20th century America's 'long war on black people,' or a visit with the mother of a beloved friend who was shot down by the police"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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Summary / Annotation
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Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Awesome submitted by jada21turner on July 22, 2015, 9:22pm Awesome

Race - Still a Horrible Problem submitted by sdunav on June 27, 2016, 6:35pm Gorgeous prose, heart-wrenching stories, this book deserves all the buzz and the awards. As a bonus, re-read (or read for the first time) Richard Wright's 1935 poem that inspired Coates' title.

Cannot recommend strongly enough submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on July 25, 2016, 8:20am This is an intensely personal book by a father written to his 15 year old son, talking about his experience of growing up Black in a world that is not safe. It is the story of his journey, and thus is a memoir, and yet is deeper and broader and more reflective than any memoir I have ever read. Coates does not claim to have THE answers, only to share with his son the genuine pain of living life in a Black body.

At one point he says, "You are a black boy, and you must be responsible for your body in a way that other boys cannot know. Indeed, you must be responsible for the worst actions of other black bodies, which, somehow, will always be assigned to you. And you must be responsible for the bodies of the powerful -- the policeman who cracks you with a nightstick will quickly find his excuse in your furtive movements. And this is not reducible just to you -- the women around you must be responsible for their bodies in a way that you never will know" (p. 71). This stopped me in my tracks. The whole book did, actually. Coates allows us in to a deep place of fear, love, growth, and determination.

If you are White (which is not a term Coates is comfortable with, but I use in the common usage) and do not have a Black friend with whom you have deep conversations about race, then I absolutely, in the strongest way I possibly can, want you to read this book. It is a hard book to read. This will not be easy. If you have people of color at your work or church or school or wherever and you have good relationships with them, that's wonderful. We need more of that in this country. But if those relationships are not of the kind that you talk about race, deeply, with bared souls and full honesty (at least on your part... no one can speak for another), then this book is a window into the lives and experiences that the White community does not generally know. That I believe we *must* begin to recognize and acknowledge if we are going to heal the wounds that come from 400 years of oppression in this country.

If you need me to challenge you to read it, then I dare you. If you need an invitation, then here it is: Please read this amazing book. If you need me to beg in order for you to pick it up, then I'll do that. I implore you... get your name on the library list or go down to your favorite book store and buy a copy. If you read it and feel like it's too much, get in touch. I'm a 40-something White woman, but I'll engage in the conversation with you. It's hard stuff, but let's go there... and let's find a path forward and open a path to heal the wounds.

Required reading! submitted by Xris on November 26, 2018, 6:37am For those of us who believe ourselves to be white, we really need to read this book. Even though this is a small book, it took me a while to read it. I stopped and looked up things that I didn't know, like most of the writers he told his son about. Great book to read if you want to educate yourself. :)

this book touched my heart submitted by TeacherN on July 26, 2019, 8:18pm This book gave me a glimpse as to what it feels like to be an African-American father of an African-American boy. It doesn't blame or preach - it just makes you feel, deeply - love, sadness, hope. As a middle-aged white woman, I was deeply affected by this book. I wish everyone would read it.

Incredibly Emotional submitted by bmarble on June 21, 2020, 7:45pm This book is an incredibly profound view on race and opened me up to a perspective and life experiences very different from my own. This is a must-read for everyone.

Stunning and heartbreaking submitted by jaromatorio on July 24, 2020, 11:58am This should be required reading for every American.

Eye-opening submitted by sVfGI7Glt2pz7GZgVB90 on August 19, 2020, 6:40am Coates's description of race in America, in the form of a letter to his son, feels more urgent and needed than ever right now. Toni Morrison described it as "required reading.".

A force submitted by avandeusen on July 17, 2021, 11:43am Can feel the force of Coates through the pages.

Between the World and me submitted by downing on August 7, 2022, 3:12pm Between the World and me is absolutely amazing

Cool submitted by zhengchun75 on July 1, 2023, 12:23pm Cool

Beautiful submitted by emroon on July 18, 2023, 10:18am Eye-opening and heart-wrenching depiction of race in America. The form of the book being a letter to the authors son was so poignant. I learned a lot about perspectives I didn't have.