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grubloved's review
it spends so much time trying to assure the reader that racism is real that it doesn't actually do any meaningful analysis?? it kind of reads like a baby's first racism primer. weird also that it kind of handwaves the entire existence of every racial group other than black and white; it makes sense once you understand it is specifically a book about antiblack racism in america, but even the book seems confused about what its purpose is, continually claiming to describe an entire system and then only fixating on one aspect -- feels a little shallow.
also weird that india's caste system is a selling point but is honestly barely present in the book, and that nazi germany is consistently held up as another state creating an underclass (the goal wasn't an underclass of jews. it was no more jews. this is not very analogous to a caste system).
the alpha wolf chapter was also absolutely atrocious and i think is a really good example of a lot of the problems i had with the text. it was really strange for the book to claim that racism's big downsides are largely that naturally superior people who happen to be in the wrong caste can't assume their rightful place as leaders, and that naturally inferior people who are in the upper caste should be allowed to be ruled by their betters ??? it continually seems to insist that hierarchy is not the problem, but that it is simply a wrong hierarchy and that we should adjust to follow a better natural order. just really really strange to read in a book about racism.
i really enjoyed the pillars of caste section but the rest of it just wasn't the indepth reading i was here for.
also weird that india's caste system is a selling point but is honestly barely present in the book, and that nazi germany is consistently held up as another state creating an underclass (the goal wasn't an underclass of jews. it was no more jews. this is not very analogous to a caste system).
the alpha wolf chapter was also absolutely atrocious and i think is a really good example of a lot of the problems i had with the text. it was really strange for the book to claim that racism's big downsides are largely that naturally superior people who happen to be in the wrong caste can't assume their rightful place as leaders, and that naturally inferior people who are in the upper caste should be allowed to be ruled by their betters ??? it continually seems to insist that hierarchy is not the problem, but that it is simply a wrong hierarchy and that we should adjust to follow a better natural order. just really really strange to read in a book about racism.
i really enjoyed the pillars of caste section but the rest of it just wasn't the indepth reading i was here for.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Confinement, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Classism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Rape, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Child death, Colonisation, Torture, Racism, and Murder
torturedreadersdept's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Misogyny, Deportation, Antisemitism, Child death, Police brutality, Slavery, and Xenophobia
elly29's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Informative. Particularly interesting to read this in parallel Haidt's "The Righteous Mind," which goes over how we developed our groupishness and how we continue to groupish cohesion, among other things. Some of it, as a privileged person living in the dominant caste, was difficult to hear. In particular was the constant comparison to the Southern United States and Nazi Germany; indeed, I did not know that Germany had modeled many of their practices and institutions on the American South. I also am horrified at the details surrounding lynching. For those with weak stomachs, skip that section.
I have a better appreciation for how intrinsic and invested racism is within American society. I think sometimes Wilkerson can be myopic, roundabout in her points, and excessive in her metaphors -- for example, she should've acknowledged earlier that European immigrants, though they themselves might've experienced racism, were able to assimilate after a generation, and she does indeed make the point that that was accomplished through distancing themselves from Black folk. However, her research is thorough, and she brings up many good points and examples about race, class, and caste within the United States. I'm particularly interested in Ambitkar, the Indian equivalent of Martin Luther King, Jr, and in Allison David's and the Gardners' "Deep South," a sociological study of caste while living covertly under it. They were some brave folk.
In terms of the writing, by the time we got to chapters in the twenties, it seemed like it had just become a litany of all the ways in which someone was denied expressing the full measure of their skill and mastery. Which, chapter after chapter, is depressing. The conclusion and epilogue kind of brought it back into analysis and calls to action.
I have a better appreciation for how intrinsic and invested racism is within American society. I think sometimes Wilkerson can be myopic, roundabout in her points, and excessive in her metaphors -- for example, she should've acknowledged earlier that European immigrants, though they themselves might've experienced racism, were able to assimilate after a generation, and she does indeed make the point that that was accomplished through distancing themselves from Black folk. However, her research is thorough, and she brings up many good points and examples about race, class, and caste within the United States. I'm particularly interested in Ambitkar, the Indian equivalent of Martin Luther King, Jr, and in Allison David's and the Gardners' "Deep South," a sociological study of caste while living covertly under it. They were some brave folk.
In terms of the writing, by the time we got to chapters in the twenties, it seemed like it had just become a litany of all the ways in which someone was denied expressing the full measure of their skill and mastery. Which, chapter after chapter, is depressing. The conclusion and epilogue kind of brought it back into analysis and calls to action.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking
annabunce's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Read this book. Isabel Wilkerson does a incredible job framing and explaining the American caste system within the context of other caste systems to fully illustrate the history of slavery and slavery's long lasting impact on Black Americans. I feel like reading this book I realized just how successful the American narrative has been at downplaying the horrors and systemic normalized racism faced by Black Americans. Definitely the kind of book that will shift your thinking and make you look at your world in a new way. This pulled back the curtain and made me consider Canada's own caste system in a whole new light.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Rape, Police brutality, Murder, Medical trauma, Incest, Gun violence, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, and Child abuse
joremmons's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This book is a wonderful mix of well-researched information, historical storytelling, and personal anecdotes that form a complete picture of the American Caste System that is powerful enough for a scholar to read but easy enough to understand for a layman. The points of comparison between the Indian Caste System, Nazi Germany, and the American slave trade/subsequent fallout draw parallels that seem unrelated but form a clear picture of dangerous (but accepted) power structures.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Misogyny, Hate crime, Gun violence, Genocide, Emotional abuse, and Death
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