Book Review: "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

"Between the World and Me"by Ta-Nehisi Coates was released early, in July instead of October 2015.  The continuing string of tragic events in our country, including the death in Coates' native Baltimore of Freddie Gray and the Charleston, S.C. murders and subsequent public discourse over the Confederate Flag were likely the factors that led to the decision to the early release of the book. I personally care not why the decision was made to release early, I am simply glad that this physically small but socially and emotionally huge book is now ready for the hands and eyes of readers.

Mr. Coates, in a series of essays written for his young son, tells his story of inhabiting a black body in today's America.  This not a book of perspective, or point-of-view.  Those are observational.  "Between the World and Me" is experiential, it is the life Mt. Coates has led, with struggles, with opportunities, with successes, and with living with the seemingly daily news of racial violence.

We hear how the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and, most predominately, Prince Jones, have affected Coates.  We learn how the decision not to prosecute the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown affected his son as a flashpoint, a moment of clear understanding about the realities of life in a black body.

Coates states that race comes from racism, that racism is not the child of race.  He quotes the Confederate States Vice-President: "Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid , its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition."   (Remember, this book was written prior to the Charleston murders.)  His point is clear - the roots of racism are deep, and the timeline is long.

I have read "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl, an account of his experiences as a prisoner in a WWII concentration camp, many times, each time finding new meaning in his words.  I believe that "Between the World and Me" is such a book, one that requires multiple readings over the course of time.  Mr. Coates' words can open up powerful self-reflection and lead to a greater, deeper understanding of the times we live in, and the times we have come from.

"Between the World and Me" gets my highest recommendation.

Speigel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, provided an Advanced Reader's Edition for purposes of review.

Amazon link to "Between the World and Me"

Ta-Nehisi Coates writing in "The Atlantic" link

"Man's Search for Meaning"by Viktor Frankl Amazon link