Ta-Nehisi Coates Essential Reads (67 books)

Based on http://absurdbeats.net/tncs-cw-books-... , https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/31/t-... , https://www.nypl.org/blog/2015/10/23/... , his blog at The Atlantic and other places where he has listed his favorite books -- books mentioned by Ta-Nehisi Coates, essential reads.

flag

All Votes Add Books To This List

1	Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956 by Anne Applebaum 4.08 avg rating — 7,231 ratings score: 295, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass 4.13 avg rating — 134,046 ratings score: 277, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust 4.04 avg rating — 7,347 ratings score: 274, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Second World War by Antony Beevor 4.40 avg rating — 10,687 ratings score: 197, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877 by Eric Foner 4.21 avg rating — 6,204 ratings score: 192, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	What This Cruel War Was Over: Soldiers, Slavery, and the Civil War by Chandra Manning 4.07 avg rating — 507 ratings score: 190, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson 4.40 avg rating — 33,671 ratings score: 190, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 4.25 avg rating — 711,466 ratings score: 173, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (Goodreads Author) 4.48 avg rating — 115,771 ratings score: 164, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt 4.38 avg rating — 13,650 ratings score: 162, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War by Eric Foner 4.12 avg rating — 1,396 ratings score: 152, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner 4.18 avg rating — 6,558 ratings score: 151, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Tasting Freedom: Octavius Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America by Daniel R. Biddle 4.09 avg rating — 65 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880 by W.E.B. Du Bois 4.52 avg rating — 3,287 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Narrative Of The Life And Adventures Of Henry Bibb: An American Slave by Henry Bibb 4.03 avg rating — 220 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk About Their Personal Experiences of Slavery and Emancipation by Ira Berlin (editor) 4.48 avg rating — 395 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time by Ira Katznelson 3.95 avg rating — 788 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	The Age of Revolution, 1789–1848 by Eric J. Hobsbawm 4.22 avg rating — 8,371 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market by Walter Johnson 4.12 avg rating — 2,036 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist (Goodreads Author) 4.45 avg rating — 5,576 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Second Treatise of Government by John Locke 3.78 avg rating — 23,983 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes 3.70 avg rating — 52,459 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815 - 1848 by Daniel Walker Howe 4.16 avg rating — 8,718 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 3.93 avg rating — 5,845,530 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement by Fergus M. Bordewich (Goodreads Author) 4.21 avg rating — 983 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 3.82 avg rating — 350,949 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom : Including Their Own Narratives Of Emancipation by David W. Blight 3.92 avg rating — 585 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Ulysses S. Grant: Memoirs & Selected Letters by Ulysses S. Grant 4.09 avg rating — 3,276 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	American Oracle: The Civil War in the Civil Rights Era by David W. Blight 4.02 avg rating — 122 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Grant by Ron Chernow 4.50 avg rating — 43,362 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon 4.38 avg rating — 7,105 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka 3.81 avg rating — 30,345 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Masters and Lords: Mid-19th-Century U.S. Planters and Prussian Junkers by Shearer Davis Bowman 3.94 avg rating — 16 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago 1940-1960 by Arnold R. Hirsch 4.10 avg rating — 344 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America by Beryl Satter 4.35 avg rating — 605 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War by H.W. Crocker III 4.04 avg rating — 555 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States by Kenneth T. Jackson 4.04 avg rating — 2,073 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Uncommon Valor: A Story of Race, Patriotism, And Glory in the Final Battles of the Civil War by Melvin Claxton 3.78 avg rating — 23 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	American Slavery, American Freedom by Edmund S. Morgan 4.12 avg rating — 3,536 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Georgia Women: Their Lives and Times, Volume 1 by Ann Short Chirhart (Editor) 3.27 avg rating — 11 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter 4.07 avg rating — 3,193 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	Slave Life in Georgia by John Brown 4.65 avg rating — 49 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The Image of the Black in Western Art: From the Pharaohs to the Fall of the Roman Empire by David Bindman (Editor) 4.52 avg rating — 21 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	What America Owes the World: The Struggle for the Soul of Foreign Policy by H.W. Brands 3.14 avg rating — 7 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life by Karen E. Fields 4.16 avg rating — 1,723 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Cannibals All! or, Slaves Without Masters by George Fitzhugh 3.02 avg rating — 87 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran 4.47 avg rating — 2,327 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Southern Stories: Slaveholders in Peace and War by Drew Gilpin Faust 3.75 avg rating — 12 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust 3.93 avg rating — 1,174 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Creating Their Own Image: The History of African-American Women Artists by Lisa E. Farrington 4.42 avg rating — 38 ratings score: 75, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution by Laurent Dubois 4.14 avg rating — 1,109 ratings score: 73, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War by Charles B. Dew 4.01 avg rating — 1,422 ratings score: 72, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	A North-Side View of Slavery: The Refugee, Or, the Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada. by Benjamin Drew 4.43 avg rating — 7 ratings score: 71, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America by Philip Dray 4.45 avg rating — 672 ratings score: 70, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen by Philip Dray 4.13 avg rating — 282 ratings score: 69, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	Black Folk Here and There: An Essay in History and Anthropology by St. Clair Drake really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 9 ratings score: 68, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	Life and Times of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass 4.35 avg rating — 1,934 ratings score: 67, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America by Paula J. Giddings 4.33 avg rating — 2,076 ratings score: 64, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	Ida: A Sword Among Lions by Paula J. Giddings 4.27 avg rating — 953 ratings score: 63, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made by Eugene D. Genovese 4.03 avg rating — 2,002 ratings score: 62, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	The Union War by Gary W. Gallagher 3.75 avg rating — 266 ratings score: 61, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	The Road to Disunion: Volume II: Secessionists Triumphant, 1854-1861 by William W. Freehling 4.14 avg rating — 179 ratings score: 60, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	The Road to Disunion: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854: Volume I by William W. Freehling 4.16 avg rating — 295 ratings score: 59, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
64	Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings by Frederick Douglass 4.51 avg rating — 55 ratings score: 58, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
65	The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote 4.53 avg rating — 8,065 ratings score: 57, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
66	A Short History of Reconstruction, 1863-1877 by Eric Foner 4.04 avg rating — 2,017 ratings score: 54, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
67	Nat Turner by Eric Foner 4.29 avg rating — 7 ratings score: 53, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars