Written as a letter to his 15-year-old son, Between the World and Me grapples with what it means to be Black in America today. This incredibly potent read distills history, personal anecdotes and reportage to express Coates’ hopes and fears for his son’s future and to appeal to his fellow Americans in general. “How do I live free in this black body? It is a profound question because America understands itself as God’s handiwork, but the black body is the clearest evidence that America is the work of men” (Ta-Nehisi Coates). You can read more about this book in in my post “5 Memoirs Everyone Should Read.”