We Were Eight Years in Power

I've been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates

Toni Morrison on 'Between the World and Me'

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. [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

Booklist

It's this timeless timeliness--reminiscent of the work of George Orwell and James Baldwin--that makes Coates worth reading again and again

Publishers Weekly

Brilliant and troubling... Required reading

Vogue

Fiercely passionate, intelligent and clear-eyed

Newsday

We are witnessing greatness. The man and his writing will be studied and revered for generations

Minneapolis Star Tribune

[Coates is] the pre-eminent black public intellectual of his generation

The New York Times

We Were Eight Years in Power is an essential text to understand America today

W Magazine

Coates eloquently unfurls blunt truths... To have such a voice, in such a moment, is a ray of light

USA Today

Across his oeuvre, Coates' prose style and literary prowess are hip-hop sharpened: he believes in the art of dexterous reference, potent, lyrical critique and political storytelling

Baltimore Sun

Coates's probing essays about race, politics, and history became necessary ballast for this nation's gravity-defying moment... Essential

The Boston Globe

Biting cultural and political analysis from the award-winning journalist . . . His conclusions are disquieting, his writing passionate, his tenor often angry.... Emotionally charged, deftly crafted, and urgently relevant essays"

Kirkus

Powerfully charged

GQ

Coates succeeds twice over, in justifying not only his account of one election, but the importance of his entire body of work

New Statesman

A wake up call... More compelling than almost any other public voice about the state we're in. He eloquently conflates the personal, political and existential, while telling it like it is

Observer

America's latest literary wunderkind... A prodigious talent

The Sunday Times

[R]aw and hard to read. You'll never forget his point of view, nor should you

Glamour

Thus, We Were Eight Years in Power serves as a clarion call for vigilance about the possible erosion of African-American advances presumed sacrosanct. Consider these riveting, well-reasoned ruminations of the most-prodigious black visionary around a must-read indeed

The Mississippi Link

Simply put, incredible. One of the foremost essayists on race in the West

Nikesh Shukla, editor of 'The Good Immigrant'

Ta-Nehisi Coates is probably the only magazine writer in the world whose articles are heralded with the same fervor as the release of the latest Beyonce album

Financial Times