Powerful and necessary, a state-of-the-nation portrait of America under Obama from the prize-winning, bestselling author of Between the World and Me.

From 2008-2016, the leader of the free world was a black man. Obama's presidency reshaped America and transformed the international conversation around politics, race, equality. But it attracted criticism and bred discontent as much as it inspired hope - so much so, that the world now faces an uncertain future under a very different kind of US President.

In this essential new book, peerless writer Ta-Nehisi Coates takes stock of the Obama era, speaking authoritatively from political, ideological and cultural perspectives, and draws a sophisticated and penetrating portrait of America today.

‘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

‘This is a book that’s utterly of its time’ Stylist ‘Emotionally charged, deftly crafted, and urgently relevant essays’ Kirkus Reviews

‘Though the essays are about a particular period, Coates's themes reflect broader social and political phenomena. 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