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CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents
by Wilkerson, Isabel
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- A nearly fine copy (a few faint spots to foredge) in a fine dust jacket
- ISBN 10
- 0593230256
- ISBN 13
- 9780593230251
- Seller
-
Bainbridge Island, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Random House, 2020. First edition. Hardcover. A nearly fine copy (a few faint spots to foredge) in a fine dust jacket. Signed by the author on a tipped-in sheet that follows the front endpaper, the author's second book. Her first book, 'The Warmth of Other Suns' won the Pulitzer Prize. Poetically written and brilliantly researched, Caste invites us to discover the inner workings of an American hierarchy that goes far beyond the confines of race, class, or gender. A book steeped in empathy and insight, Caste explores, through layered analysis and stories of real people, the structure of an unspoken system of human ranking and reveals how our lives are still restricted by what divided us centuries ago. "Modern-day caste protocols," Wilkerson writes, "are often less about overt attacks or conscious hostility. They are like the wind, powerful enough to knock you down but invisible as they go about their work." 476 pages with index.
Synopsis
In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity. Beautifully written, original, and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Ed Smith Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 15276
- Title
- CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents
- Author
- Wilkerson, Isabel
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - A nearly fine copy (a few faint spots to foredge) in a fine dust jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- ISBN 10
- 0593230256
- ISBN 13
- 9780593230251
- Publisher
- Random House
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2020
- Keywords
- Caste, United States, social stratification, ethnicity, power, race relations
Terms of Sale
Ed Smith Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Ed Smith Books
Biblio member since 2009
Bainbridge Island, Washington
About Ed Smith Books
Ed Smith Books specializes in better condition modern literary first editions, signed books, photographic monographs, screen and theater related material and pop culture. We offer appraisals for books and photographs. We are located a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle, WA on Bainbridge Island. Since 1985 (ABAA since 1995). Two authors we specialize in are Charles Bukowski and Hunter S Thompson. Open by appointment.
Glossary
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- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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