CASTE (OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB): THE ORIGINS OF OUR DISCONTENTS

u003cbu003eu003cbu003eu003ciu003eNEW YORK TIMES u003c/iu003eBESTSELLER - OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK - u003c/bu003eThe Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of u003ciu003eThe Warmth of Other Sunsu003c/iu003e examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.u003c/bu003e u003cpu003eu003cbu003e"An instant American classic."--Dwight Garner, u003ciu003eThe New York Timesu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003e u003cpu003eu003ciu003e"As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power--which groups have it and which do not."u003c/iu003e u003cpu003eIn 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. u003cpu003eBeyond 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. u003cpu003eBeautifully written, original, and revealing, u003ciu003eCaste: The Origins of Our Discontentsu003c/iu003e 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.