These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser.
Poet and Atlantic staff writer Clint Smith’s first major work of nonfiction—an immediate bestseller—offers a critical look at the ways in which the U.S. erases, distorts and commodifies its history of enslavement. Smith travels the country, weaving in his personal history as he visits historical sites and modern memorials and ruminating on the effects of this dark legacy. Smith forces us to ask: How does our perception of the past inform our national identity and, especially, the treatment of Black Americans?
Buy Now: How the Word Is Passed on Bookshop | Amazon
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Introducing the 2025 Closers
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- Why, Exactly, Is Alcohol So Bad for You?
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- 11 New Books to Read in February
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Column: Trump’s Trans Military Ban Betrays Our Troops