Books Recommended by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Neon Vernacular
Yusef Komunyakaa
Source: "Probably my favorite living poet. No on else taught me more about how important it was to think about how words make people feel. It's not enough for people to know something is true. They have to feel it's true." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
Sweet Soul Music
Peter Guralnick
Source: "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." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton
Source: "Again, I like this book for its willingness to embrace the tragic. No happy endings. The book is a defense of elitism, something I guess I oppose. But I found it credible, here." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
Battle Cry of Freedom
James M. McPherson
Source: "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." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Thirty Years War
C. V. Wedgwood
Source: "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." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Waterworks
A Novel
E.L. Doctorow
Source: "What a strange and beautiful book. The story of a postbellum American newspaper editor investigating the undead." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Source: "I'm a sucker for efficiency. This book gets so much out of what is, ultimately, a rather slim story. I adore it." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Country Between Us
Carolyn Forche
Source: "Another book of poetry that taught me what the form was. [The author] has a beautiful sense of rhythm." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
Postwar
A History of Europe Since 1945
Tony Judt
Source: "[The author understood history] does not exist to comfort us." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Fire Next Time
James Baldwin
Source: "Basically the finest essay I've ever read." - Ta-Nehisi Coates
FAQ
Did Ta-Nehisi Coates recommend all these books?
Not necessarily. This book list has Ta-Nehisi Coates must-read recommendations, but it also has a mix of mentions and suggestions.
How do you know Ta-Nehisi Coates mentioned these books?
Every suggestion made by Ta-Nehisi Coates is validated by our editors. You can find the sources to the recommendations linked next to the books.
Did Ta-Nehisi Coates actually create this list?
No. This reading list was curated by our editors based on confirmed mentions from Ta-Nehisi Coates, the sources are made available under each recommendation.
34 books
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