Ta-Nehisi Coates's Reading List
Author of Between the World and Me and We Were Eight Years in Power. Curated favorites for One Grand Books and recommended a reading list at the NY Public Library.
Open in WellRead Daily app →Ta-Nehisi Coates's NYPL Reading List (2015)
Books Coates recommended at a public program at the Schomburg Center.
Source: www.nypl.org
James Baldwin · 1963 · Buy on Amazon
"Baldwin's powerful exploration of race, religion, and American identity in the 1960s aligns with Ta-Nehisi Coates's own work examining the Black experience and systemic racism."
David Carr · 2008 · Buy on Amazon
"Carr's unflinching self-investigation into addiction and memory fits Ta-Nehisi Coates's interest in the complex, often painful process of confronting personal and historical truths."
Edward E. Baptist · 2014 · Buy on Amazon
"This book's examination of slavery's economic impact aligns with Ta-Nehisi Coates's work exploring the historical and ongoing legacy of racial inequality in America. It offers a deep dive into the systemic forces that shaped the nation."
James M. McPherson · 1988 · Buy on Amazon
"This comprehensive history of the Civil War era fits Ta-Nehisi Coates's deep interest in American history, particularly the legacy of slavery and the struggle for Black liberation. It aligns with his work exploring the foundational conflicts and contradictions of the United States."
Arnold R. Hirsch · 1983 · Buy on Amazon
"This study of systemic racism in housing policy aligns with Ta-Nehisi Coates's work exploring the historical and ongoing impact of white supremacy on Black communities in America."
Beryl Satter · 2009 · Buy on Amazon
"This history of predatory housing practices in Chicago's Black communities fits Ta-Nehisi Coates's interest in the systemic exploitation of Black Americans and the lasting impact of racist policies. It aligns with his work exploring race, power, and American history."
Wil Haygood · 2015 · Buy on Amazon
"This account of Thurgood Marshall's fight for justice and the struggle for civil rights aligns with Ta-Nehisi Coates's deep exploration of American history, race, and power."
Edmund Morgan · 1975 · Buy on Amazon
"Morgan's examination of the paradox of liberty and bondage in early America fits Ta-Nehisi Coates's interest in the historical roots of racial inequality and the founding ideals of the United States. It aligns with his work exploring how American freedom was built upon the institution of slavery."
Karen Fields · 2012 · Buy on Amazon
"This book, which examines how the concept of race is created and maintained, aligns with Ta-Nehisi Coates's deep exploration of race and power in American society. It offers a framework for understanding the systemic nature of racial inequality, a central theme in his own work."
Paula Giddings · 1984 · Buy on Amazon
"This foundational text on Black women's intellectual and political history aligns with Coates's work exploring the intersections of race, power, and American identity. It offers a critical historical lens on the often-overlooked contributions of Black women."
Paula J. Giddings · 2008 · Buy on Amazon
"This biography of Ida B. Wells, a pioneering Black journalist and anti-lynching activist, fits Ta-Nehisi Coates's interest in the history of racial injustice and resistance in America."
Thavolia Glymph · 2008 · Buy on Amazon
"This history of the plantation household's transformation aligns with Ta-Nehisi Coates's work exploring the enduring legacy and structures of American slavery. It offers a deep dive into the domestic realities that shaped racial power dynamics."
Ta-Nehisi Coates's Top Ten Books
Curated for One Grand Books, with quotes from Coates on each pick.
Source: onegrandbooks.com
F. Scott Fitzgerald · 1925 · Buy on Amazon
"I'm a sucker for efficiency. This book gets so much out of what is, ultimately, a rather slim story."
Tony Judt · 2005 · Buy on Amazon
"A book that deeply informs my journalist sense. History does not exist to comfort us."
E.L. Doctorow · 1994 · Buy on Amazon
"What a strange and beautiful book. Doctorow's most underrated work."
James M. McPherson · 1988 · Buy on Amazon
"The definitive history of the Civil War. Arguably the best one-volume history in existence."
C. V. Wedgwood · 1938 · Buy on Amazon
"God, I love this book. It's the history of an utterly depressing war with no real nobility."
Peter Guralnick · 1986 · Buy on Amazon
"History of soul music, told in profiles. I spent a lot of time meditating on Sam and Dave."
Yusef Komunyakaa · 1993 · Buy on Amazon
"Probably my favorite living poet."
Edith Wharton · 1920 · Buy on Amazon
"I like this book for its willingness to embrace the tragic. No happy endings."
Carolyn Forche · 1981 · Buy on Amazon
"Forche has a beautiful sense of rhythm. It's all about what you don't say."
James Baldwin · 1963 · Buy on Amazon
"Basically the finest essay I've ever read. Baldwin refused to hold anyone's hand."
Favorite books (2021)
Favorite books recommended by Ta Nehisi Coates, as compiled by radicalreads.com. Source article: https://radicalreads.com/ta-nehisi-coates-favorite-books/.
Source: radicalreads.com
Tony Judt · 2005 · Buy on Amazon
"A book that deeply informs my journalist sense. Writers-particularly American writers-constantly feel the pull of soulutionism, the desire to assure their readers that there is a way out, even when there isn’t. Judt refused this. History, he understood, does not exist to comfort us."
E.L. Doctorow · Buy on Amazon
"What a strange and beautiful book. The story of a postbellum American newspaper editor investigating the undead. Doctorow’s most underrated work."
James McPherson · Buy on Amazon
"The definitive history of the Civil War. One of the greatest works of history I’ve ever read and arguably the best one volume history in existence. Having said that…"
C.V. Wedgwood · Buy on Amazon
"God, I love this book. It’s the history of an utterly depressing war with no real nobility, that ultimately descends into cannibalism. Right up my alley."
Peter Guralnick (also rec’d by David Bowie ) · Buy on Amazon
"History of soul music, told in profiles. I read this is as young man really trying to understand what journalism and history meant. Spent a lot of time meditating on Sam and Dave after this one."
Yusef Komanyakaa · Buy on Amazon
"Probably my favorite living poet. No one else taught me more about how important it was to think about how words make people feel. It’s enough for people to know something is true. They have to feel it’s true."
Carolyn Forché · Buy on Amazon
"Another book of poetry that taught me what the form was. Forché has a beautiful sense of rhythm. I teach her famous poem “The Colonel” in essay and nonfiction classes. It’s all about what you don’t say."