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bigenk's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Where Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow focuses deeply on the modern transition to a system that has replaced legalize slavery with the mass incarceration of young black men, Caste takes a broader view of the landscape of social order that the United States is built upon. Specifically, Wilkerson spends most the book comparing the racial based caste system that we currently have with that of India, and Nazi Germany in World War II. She covers a detailed history of how and who created this system, what they gain out of it, what the tools they use to maintain it, and how the psychology of a caste system reinforces it's self, pitting those with the
The citations in this lengthy exploration are almost as long as the text itself. It's exhaustive and brutal. It's also the kind of book that has re-framed my thoughts on where I fit into this systems, what I can do attempt to recognize and validate the experiences of those in the lower castes while also attempting to change my behavior and thinking to swing the tide of oppression. I think what sets this book apart is that, regardless of your knowledge of history and your logical understanding of our history, it's another thing to feel it's oppression. Caste is an excellent example of a nonfiction work that makes you feel the immensity of the problem, how consuming it is, and the dark path that the United States is slowly sliding down as the dominant caste feels that they are starting to loose their grip on total control.
The citations in this lengthy exploration are almost as long as the text itself. It's exhaustive and brutal. It's also the kind of book that has re-framed my thoughts on where I fit into this systems, what I can do attempt to recognize and validate the experiences of those in the lower castes while also attempting to change my behavior and thinking to swing the tide of oppression. I think what sets this book apart is that, regardless of your knowledge of history and your logical understanding of our history, it's another thing to feel it's oppression. Caste is an excellent example of a nonfiction work that makes you feel the immensity of the problem, how consuming it is, and the dark path that the United States is slowly sliding down as the dominant caste feels that they are starting to loose their grip on total control.
lauraborkpower's review against another edition
5.0
Wilkerson is an exceptional writer, journalist, and historian. She has written so much more than a book. This is an exploration of what it means to be human and an American and where those two beings conflict. Wilkerson weaves in her own experiences as a Black woman and her stories are honest and always relevant and never sentimental, which makes them all the more affecting.
Robin Miles does a great job with the audiobook.
Robin Miles does a great job with the audiobook.
cleothegreat's review
5.0
love isabel wilkerson's books. don't know why the concept that america has a caste system isn't something that's more commonly talked about. fascinating and well written!!!