{"product_id":"9780399590566","title":"We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER • In these “urgently relevant essays,”* the National Book Award–winning author of \u003ci\u003eBetween the World and Me\u003c\/i\u003e “reflects on race, Barack Obama’s presidency and its jarring aftermath”*—including the election of Donald Trump.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“We were eight years in power” was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is America’s “first white president.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the story of these present-day eight years is not just about presidential politics. This book also examines the new voices, ideas, and movements for justice that emerged over this period—and the effects of the persistent, haunting shadow of our nation’s old and unreconciled history. Coates powerfully examines the events of the Obama era from his intimate and revealing perspective—the point of view of a young writer who begins the journey in an unemployment office in Harlem and ends it in the Oval Office, interviewing a president.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe Were Eight Years in Power \u003c\/i\u003efeatures Coates’s iconic essays first published in \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic,\u003c\/i\u003e including “Fear of a Black President,” “The Case for Reparations,” and “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,” along with eight fresh essays that revisit each year of the Obama administration through Coates’s own experiences, observations, and intellectual development, capped by a bracingly original assessment of the election that fully illuminated the tragedy of the Obama era. \u003ci\u003eWe Were Eight Years in Power\u003c\/i\u003e is a vital account of modern America, from one of the definitive voices of this historic moment.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e*\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eWe Were Eight Years in Power\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Essential . . . Coates’s probing essays about race, politics, and history became necessary ballast for this nation’s gravity-defying moment.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Coates’s 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. . . . 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.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Random House Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47011295494384,"sku":"9780399590566","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780399590566_p0.jpg?v=1763699751","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780399590566","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}