Isabel Wilkerson uses her very readable writing style to attempt to compare Nazi Germany, and India's religious social structure to America's deliberate and destructive "Caste" system, created by white Americans for their benefit. As with so many black authors, the first 160 pages are all about pre-1950 history and slavery, as if this is somehow justification for behavior today of ANY people. Unfortunately, the notion that Blacks in America are oppressed by White people doesn't really make sense. Rather than being discriminated against, American Blacks enjoy special rights, privileges, and advantages that are unavailable to White Americans. These advantages extend into every aspect of Americas public life and can be traced to legislation passed back in the 1960s. A system of racial privileges for blacks was forced on universities, employers, and the population. Less qualified blacks were given preference over more qualified whites in university admissions, employment and promotion. Freezes are used against white admissions, employment, and promotion until racial balance is achieved. Rather than being institutionally oppressed, American Blacks have been accorded a whole array of institutional advantages over Whites. This represents a truly remarkable state of affairs because it stands as the only known instance in history whereby a racial majority in power has voluntarily agreed to relinquish its standing and allow discrimination against themselves in favor of a racial minority in the name of trying to create a more equal and harmonious society - which is a good thing. It is unfortunate that amidst all this opportunity, in the year 2020, some people still feel the need to find fault and complain that their lives are somehow not within their control, all while writing books that are quickly accepted and published, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in supplemental income for their hard work and dedication.

It deservedly won the Pulitzer. It is an encyclopedic survey of the author's identifying racism (especially in the South iif slavery and Jim Crow, then was copied by the German Nazis) and with the lowest caste in India, the latter less convincing to me. I ended up skimming when she would give not one example, but three for everything. Maybe because I have lived it since the early days of civil rights movement, I could skim a lot of the material, chosen for emotional impact.

Isabel Wilkerson has nailed it, AGAIN!. This books helps to put many social structures, and their natures in a broader perspective. She peels back layers of values, beliefs, rituals, and memories that have been mis-qualified throughout America's history. She offers the readers an opportunity to "...dig into the precincts of our soul and examine the suburbs of our hearts...(Dr. Cornell West)" to identify oneself in the America we have. She gives alternative views of American history that have held mystery and irrationality. This is a good read for high schoolers and older. Millennials, especially non-black and brown ones, would be served VERY well if they had the insight from this book. Perry, Virginia

Wow. This book should be required reading. I learned so much from the eloquent words of Isabel Wilkerson. I’ll never understand the black experience in the United States but I will try my hardest to continue to educate myself. This book is it, you guys. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I’m begging you. Read this book. Wilkerson weaves in her own life stories right along with her extensively researched findings of history and makes comparisons that are so thought provoking and important to know. This book will stick with me forever.