Status
Available
Publication
Delacorte Press (2022), 352 pages
Library's review
Adapted for teens from the 2020 adult bestseller, this timely work urges readers to complicate conversations around American race and class divisions.
“What does racist mean in an era when even extremists won’t admit to it?” asks Wilkerson, who introduces readers to caste, “an artificial
Compelling and accessible for a younger generation energized to build a better world. (index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)
-Kirkus Review
“What does racist mean in an era when even extremists won’t admit to it?” asks Wilkerson, who introduces readers to caste, “an artificial
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construction” not solely based on race or class but “a fixed and embedded ranking of human value.” In America, she writes, there’s a “shape-shifting, unspoken, race-based caste pyramid” persisting through generations. The parallels between caste and race are palpable throughout the book, though, Wilkerson writes, they “are neither synonymous nor mutually exclusive.” Unlike race, which is a mutable social concept, and class, which can shift through luck and achievement, the author makes the case for caste as a permanent fixture which can be traced to the 1619 arrival of enslaved Africans in the Virginia Colony. Prior to defining caste rankings and outlining its eight pillars, Wilkerson draws comparisons between India and the United States, referencing the treatment of Adivasi and Native Americans, Dalits and African Americans. Additionally, the book provides provocative insights into America’s influence on Nazi Germany, whose researchers carefully studied U.S. race laws. Vignettes and memoir intertwine, illuminating the book’s arguments. With easy-to-digest storytelling and elaborate metaphors embedded in extensive research, Wilkerson challenges readers to resist validating any semblance of hierarchy and to refer to history as a pathway for eradicating its stronghold.Compelling and accessible for a younger generation energized to build a better world. (index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)
-Kirkus Review
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Awards
National Book Award (Longlist — Nonfiction — 2020)
Kirkus Prize (Finalist — Nonfiction — 2020)
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — 2020)
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — Nonfiction — 2020)
Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Shortlist — Nonfiction — 2021)
Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction (Longlist — Nonfiction — 2021)
Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize (Longlist — Nonfiction — 2021)
BookTube Prize (Finalist — Nonfiction — 2021)
PEN/Jean Stein Book Award (Longlist — 2021)
J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize (Nominee — 2021)
PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction (Longlist — 2021)
BCALA Literary Awards (Honor — Nonfiction — 2021)
NPR: Books We Love (2020)
Boston Globe Best Book (Nonfiction — 2020)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2020)
Oprah's Book Club 2.0 (2020-11 — 2020)
Notable Books List (Nonfiction — 2021)
Time Magazine's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2020)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Non-Fiction — 2020)
LibraryReads (Annual Voter Favorite — August 2020)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2020)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2020-08-04
ISBN
0593427947 / 9780593427941
Other editions
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (Hardcover)
Caste (Adapted for Young Adults) by Isabel Wilkerson (Hardcover)