Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Caste (Oprah's, Club)

by Isabel Wilkerson

THE TIME NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Required reading for all of humanity' Oprah Winfrey

'It could not have come at a more urgent time' Fatima Bhutto, Guardian

'An instant American classic' Dwight Garner, The New York Times

'The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power - which groups have it and which do not'

Beyond race or class, our lives are defined by a powerful, unspoken system of divisions. In Caste, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson gives an astounding portrait of this hidden phenomenon. Linking America, India and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson reveals how our world has been shaped by caste - and how its rigid, arbitrary hierarchies still divide us today.

With clear-sighted rigour, Wilkerson unearths the eight pillars that connect caste systems across civilizations, and demonstrates how our own era of intensifying conflict and upheaval has arisen as a consequence of caste. Weaving in stories of real people, she shows how its insidious undertow emerges every day; she documents its surprising health costs; and she explores its effects on culture and politics. Finally, Wilkerson points forward to the ways we can - and must - move beyond its artificial divisions, towards our common humanity.

Beautifully written and deeply original, Caste is an eye-opening examination of what lies beneath the surface of ordinary lives. No one can afford to ignore the moral clarity of its insights, or its urgent call for a freer, fairer world.

Reviewed by Heather on

5 of 5 stars

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This book is very good and you should absolutely read it. The reason I didn't finish it was that in the very beginning she lays out her premise that the U.S's racial issues are actually a caste system. I could see the point of her argument. I agreed with her premise. But then the rest of the book was her attempting to prove her point. I was listening to it, nodding, and thinking, "Yes, I agree." After a while it because hours and hours of listening to the horrors inflicted on people throughout history up to now. I figured that I had already understood and agreed with the point. I didn't need to listen to the details of all the horrible things people did. I see enough of that with current events.

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  • 1 October, 2020: Reviewed