I’m reading Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. I’d recommend it for many reasons. The book illuminates the distinction between racial antipathy and passively supporting social norms that limit the power and privilege of African Americans. While most Americans can truthfully say that they harbor no hate in the hearts towards people of other ethnic backgrounds, it’s a much smaller group that actively works to dismantle discriminatory systems and views that enforce the caste system in the US.

While not as explicit as the caste systems in India or Israel (both Dalits and Palestinians live under conditions that could accurately be described as apartheid), Wilkerson makes an effective argument that caste does indeed exist in the US.

I was somewhat skeptical of this idea before reading the book, but now I’m fully convinced. If you’ve read the book, please share your own views in the comments.

That’s all I’ve got for this week — we had a huge family event that has taken up most of my energy and bandwidth lately. In the next couple weeks I’ll be working on the final proof of The Last Crucible (Book 3 of Reclaimed Earth), which I’m hoping to deliver to Flame Tree in the first week of June.

I’m looking for book recommendations, both fiction and nonfiction. What are you reading and enjoying?