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Caste

The Origins of Our Discontents

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Caste

Written by: Isabel Wilkerson
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

'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.

© Isabel Wilkerson 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Americas Asia India Racism & Discrimination Social Classes & Economic Disparity Social Sciences Sociology South Asia United States

Critic Reviews

If you haven't read Caste yet, you absolutely must (Edward Enninful)
Powerful and timely... I cannot recommend it strongly enough (Barack Obama)
Such is Wilkerson's gift as a writer that she leaves you looking at the world differently (Afua Hirsch)
Elegant and persuasive... Caste will spur readers to think and to feel in equal measure (Kwame Anthony Appiah)
Probably the most important piece of non-fiction published this year (Sarah Hughes)
A surprising and arresting wide-angle reframing... Her epilogue feels like a prayer for a country in pain, offering new directions through prophetic new language (Bilal Qureshi)
An expansive interrogation of racism, institutionalised inequality and injustice... This is an American reckoning and so it should be... It is a painfully resonant book and could not have come at a more urgent time (Fatima Bhutto)
Persuasive and unsettling... The case Wilkerson puts forward is inspiring and hopeful... caste can be dismantled, setting everyone free (Ashish Ghadiali)
Important and timely... If repudiation of past assumptions is the first step towards healing, Wilkerson's book offers a powerful frame for this. It is essential reading for anybody who feels angry, guilty or threatened by the tangled issue of "race" in America today (Gillian Tett)
Magisterial... [Wilkerson's] reporting is nimble and her sentences exquisite. But the real power of Caste lies tucked within the stories she strings together like pearls... Caste is a luminous read, bearing its own torch of righteous wrath in a diamond-hard prose that will be admired and studied by future generations of journalists (Hamilton Cain)
All stars
Most relevant
Explains current events in the world (not just USA) better than just Class and Race

Brilliant insight!

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This is not for Indians (I am one) who understand caste. This is for white Americans and Europeans who wants primary to understand the dark underbelly of USA

‘Introduction to racism in America’

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I thought America to be a just society the discrimination might have been just on the color basis, but giving a viz a viz comparison with thr caste system of India, I did not perceive it from that view point, I liked how author with help of examples explained the unjust behavior of the people, the only part I didnt like exaggeration of Barrack Obama maybe whatever disadvantages he had, he wore the same color when he sat on the throne and that is what his Policies were like.

it's an eye opener

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This is one of the most enlightening books on the subject that I have read. The author has skillfully crafted how the reader gets gradually introduced to the realities of caste, by whatever name called, and then in the second part of the book be truly exposed to the horrors of modern day casteism. A must read, especially for those who do not believe that caste system still exists.

Must read

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Caste: The origins of our discontents is one of the most important book that one could read in his/her own life. A true blend of history, sociology, political science etc. to discern a caste system for what it is: Power.

Go for this, if you want to find the true contagion that lurks within me and within you.

Important!

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