American Mixed Race

Rating:
Summary: Academic Ostrich Fogs Equine Cadaver
Review: These essays are presented in support of Zack's contention that race does not exist.

Zack believes that, because more genetic difference occurs within racial groups than between groups, that differences between individuals are far more meaningful than differences between races.

Imagine that marbles came in two colours of bag, red bags and blue bags. Each bag contained marbles in many different colours. Imagine that some colours of marble were more highly prized than others, with green marbles being the most highly prized of all.
Only the blue bags contain green marbles.
Irrespective of how different blue marble bags were from each other in chromatic composition generally, there would still be a consistant specific and important difference (at least to marble dealers) between blue marble bags and red marble bags.

General variables do not obviate specific differences. However entertaining the essays Zack presents may be, they are presented in support of a theory which she chooses to base on a logic fallacy.

Most of the heritable differences betwen human beings are irrelevant. It does not matter much whether someone can roll their tongue or whether their belly-button goes in or goes out. The important differences between human groups are differences in temperament and cognative function. Race is real.

Rating:
Summary: A mediocre addition to the burgeoning mixed-race literature
Review: Zack comes up with really dynamic concepts for books. I wish her career well. However, I wasn't thrilled by this book. Zack edits an anthology on "microdiversity", basically investigating the fac that there is more diversity within races than between races and mixed-race individuals substantiate this. Zack basically goes back and forth on whether racial categories should be used strategically or obliterated. The anthology has some interesting pieces from Native Americans. It is lacking on pieces from Latinos. It is very academic: everyday fans of Maria Root's books may be stumped here. The book ends with this awkard, unnecessary essay by a Jewish woman that is not even bi-religious. This book isn't terrible, it's just that there are better books on multiraciality out there.