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The Message

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The Message

Written by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Narrated by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
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#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The renowned author of Between the World and Me journeys to three resonant sites of conflict to explore how the stories we tell—and the ones we don’t—shape our realities.

“Ta-Nehisi Coates always writes with a purpose. . . . These pilgrimages, for him, help ground his powerful writing about race.”—Associated Press

“Coates exhorts readers, including students, parents, educators, and journalists, to challenge conventional narratives that can be used to justify ethnic cleansing or camouflage racist policing. Brilliant and timely.”—Booklist (starred review)

FINALIST FOR THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Electric Lit

Ta-Nehisi Coates originally set out to write a book about writing, in the tradition of Orwell’s classic “Politics and the English Language,”but found himself grappling with deeper questions about how our stories—our reporting and imaginative narratives and mythmaking—expose and distort our realities.

In the first of the book’s three intertwining essays, Coates, on his first trip to Africa, finds himself in two places at once: in Dakar, a modern city in Senegal, and in a mythic kingdom in his mind. Then he takes readers along with him to Columbia, South Carolina, where he reports on his own book’s banning, but also explores the larger backlash to the nation’s recent reckoning with history and the deeply rooted American mythology so visible in that city—a capital of the Confederacy with statues of segregationists looming over its public squares. Finally, in the book’s longest section, Coates travels to Palestine, where he sees with devastating clarity how easily we are misled by nationalist narratives, and the tragedy that lies in the clash between the stories we tell and the reality of life on the ground.

Written at a dramatic moment in American and global life, this work from one of the country’s most important writers is about the urgent need to untangle ourselves from the destructive myths that shape our world—and our own souls—and embrace the liberating power of even the most difficult truths. Black Creators Politics & Government Racism & Discrimination Social Sciences Mythology Africa New York
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Simply mesmerizing. Thank you for being the voice of the silenced ones. Thank you for not being afraid to say the truth. This is the beginning of Palestine’s liberation. Thanks to voices and people like you.

So beautifully articulate

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Coates has written a really wonderful book about writing. it's nuanced, humble and honest, particularly about his own relationship to his past work. I have liked, but not loved his previous writing so I was surprised with how engrossing his discussions of the reception of his past work was.

Author narrated audio books can be risky, but this is great reading from beginning to end.

Beautifully written, beautifully read

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I love that Ta Nehis Coates himself is the narrator especially for the last essay about his visit to Palestine. He does a great job of balancing facts with his own experience/perspective. While every essay is distinct, the common thread of white supremacy is evident. To be digested and not merely read/listened to.

Thought-provoking and stirring

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This was a fantastic read. Even as someone that’s well versed in the Palestinian situation and current genocide being committed against them. It’s truly an awe experience to read someone’s awakening moment to what’s happening in and to Palestine. This is even more true given all the flack he’s getting on main stream media about his book and his unrelenting support for Palestine. His poise and ability to not lose his cool at the ridiculousness asked of him is inspiring. He’s helping people see the truth and for that he will go down as one of the most respectable writers and advocate.

The awakening for Ta-nehisi

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Ta Nehisi Coates stands out in an era of journalistic skepticism. It is evident from The Message that his honest account and opinions come from a deep understanding of oppression, and all the froms in which it’s manifests. Writers around the world ought to take inspiration from the author and wield the power of their pens in the brave endeavour to save humanity. To save the world.

Truth to Power

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