Rating: 
Summary: A sensitive subject presented to us in an unbiased way
Review: "Race and Culture" is a book of extraordinary quality. Dr. Sowell discusses the impact of the cultural differences, and how these differences have been a determining factor for the direction that the different societies in our world have taken, and the degree of success/failure they have experienced. When I bought this book, I was most curious to the chapter on "Race and intelligence". Here Sowell brings up whether it exists a racial, genetic difference in the innate intelligence. It is evident to the reader that Sowell done a considerable amount of research on the topic. His research comes across as both balanced, and well argued. Sowell does present us with IQ test-results which, as I see it, are flirting with the "race"-line, but at the same time he points out that these results changes dramatically over time. After all, immigrants to the US has proven to be economical prosperous regardless of how they scored on the intelligence test. Actually, how I understood it, the test proved that a high (low) score was absolutely no guarantee for success (failure). This again proves that not genetics, but rather traits such as cultural capacity to adapt to new environment, and the inherited traditional values that are the essential factors to success (failure). I am a firm believer that the standardized tests do not measure innate, but rather what I would call performance intelligence. Sure, a pore black boy with no education nor an academic environment supporting him, will naturally (and expectedly) score lower on a standardized test, than a rich white kid that has taken every "prep-class" available, that has had private teachers all his life, member of the chess club etc. etc. But here they are comparing oranges and apples. That the white kid gets a better score than the black kid doesn't prove the white kid was born smarter than the black boy. These two kids have been exposed to the world in a totally different way - and that is what the result is telling you. I am not saying that there isn't a difference in mental performance between these two kids. What I am saying is that I don't see the difference to be a *genetic* difference. (For if the difference was a genetic one, how du you explain research that shows that black American kids improved their IQ-score significantly after being adopted by white families?) "Race and Culture" held my attention from beginning to end. This is a book that I learned a lot from, and one I most definitely will refer to in the future. "Race and Culture" is the kind of book that I already now look forward to read again at some point in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Dr. Sowell is a top-notch scholar, and this is a great book!
Review: From the back cover: "Alongside Gary Becker's and Theodore Schultz's conception of human capital and Bob Putnam's conception of social capital, we should add Thomas Sowell's notion of cultural capital. In an impressive use of materials drawn from around the world, Sowell describes the enormous impact of cultural capital in employment, education, migration, and politics. One finishes reading this book awed by Sowell's capacity to bring together so much material in such a readable fashion."
--Myron Weiner, Professor of Political Science, M.I.T. "For nearly a generation, Thomas Sowell has defined the terms of debate on affirmative action. His latest book expands the discussion beyond America's preoccupation with white racism and black disadvantage to examine how different groups fare in widely disparate societies and what role race and culture play in the process. Sowell has no match in his breadth of knowledge on these issues, but he is interested more than simply analyzing data. Race and Culture is ultimately a cautionary tale of American history with broad implications for current public policies directed at racial and ethnic groups in the U.S."
--Linda Chavez, Manhattan Institute Dr. Thomas Sowell is a black man, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His many books include 'Ethnic America,' and most recently 'Inside American Education.' He also writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column and a bi-weekly column in Forbes magazine. His essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Newsweek, and Fortune. He has also published articles in scholarly journals in the United States and other countries. And, he has sat in for Rush Limbaugh, in his absence, on the EIB Radio Network. So, he is well qualified to write on this subject, erudite, and much respected. And, he does not support affirmative action, and his reasons are cogent and many. This book held my attention from beginning to end, and the heady praise of Weiner and Chavez in the back cover blurbs, I found to be well deserved. The book is a tour de force thst will set standards on this complex subject for decades to come. Sowell discusses the impact of geographical disparities, as well as of economic differences between peoples as they effect not only incomes or occupations, but also in terms of productivity differences. He points out that racial or national differences alone cannot account for the differences between the cultures of, say, Britain and the Iberian Peninsula. And, he makes a persuasive case. Let me suggest that you add this book to your library. Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity
Rating:
Summary: Dr. Sowell is a top-notch scholar, and this is a great book!
Review:
From the back cover: "Alongside Gary Becker's and Theodore Schultz's conception of human capital and Bob Putnam's conception of social capital, we should add Thomas Sowell's notion of cultural capital. In an impressive use of materials drawn from around the world, Sowell describes the enormous impact of cultural capital in employment, education, migration, and politics. One finishes reading this book awed by Sowell's capacity to bring together so much material in such a readable fashion."
--Myron Weiner, Professor of Political Science, M.I.T. "For nearly a generation, Thomas Sowell has defined the terms of debate on affirmative action. His latest book expands the discussion beyond America's preoccupation with white racism and black disadvantage to examine how different groups fare in widely disparate societies and what role race and culture play in the process. Sowell has no match in his breadth of knowledge on these issues, but he is interested more than simply analyzing data. Race and Culture is ultimately a cautionary tale of American history with broad implications for current public policies directed at racial and ethnic groups in the U.S."
--Linda Chavez, Manhattan Institute Dr. Thomas Sowell is a black man, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His many books include 'Ethnic America,' and most recently 'Inside American Education.' He also writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column and a bi-weekly column in Forbes magazine. His essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Newsweek, and Fortune. He has also published articles in scholarly journals in the United States and other countries. And, he has sat in for Rush Limbaugh, in his absence, on the EIB Radio Network. So, he is well qualified to write on this subject, erudite, and much respected. And, he does not support affirmative action, and his reasons are cogent and many. This book held my attention from beginning to end, and the heady praise of Weiner and Chavez in the back cover blurbs, I found to be well deserved. The book is a tour de force thst will set standards on this complex subject for decades to come. Sowell discusses the impact of geographical disparities, as well as of economic differences between peoples as they effect not only incomes or occupations, but also in terms of productivity differences. He points out that racial or national differences alone cannot account for the differences between the cultures of, say, Britain and the Iberian Peninsula. And, he makes a persuasive case. Let me suggest that you add this book to your library. Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity
Rating: 
Summary: race and culture and terrorism
Review: An argument against affirmative action and other social programs which "shatter cultural insularity" (p. 67) of minorities. The "conqueror's" fear of generalized groups of minority people is a prescription for social disaster, in my opinion. The value of each individual life inside the group is minimized. And since the "conquered" folks imitate us (according to Sowell), they will do to us what we do to them. We seem to have seen much of this, this week.
Imagine how frustrated intelligent people in "particular racial and ethnic groups" might be, if they saw this happening -- or read Sowell's book. In the US, anti-affirmative action racial policy has the intended effect of assuring that the groups continue to be culturally isolated. If Sowell actually prescribes this as his "World View" , I sure hope he is not advising the President and State Department on how to deal with the world after the acts of terrorism this week. Terrorism is a violent response -- mistakenly perceived as an action -- from a disenfranchised person or people. There really is no objective to their action -- the action itself is enough of a life's work. Should we ask the hijackers? Did Patty Hearst really want the Symbionese Liberation Army to really run things after the attack on the bank? Is that why she went out with a machine gun? That she was made to feel frustrated is simply human conditioning. Terrorism seeks to relieve frustration, first and ultimately. A terrorist doesn't have a plan beyond creating terror. Terrorism does not distinguish members of a group; it is a crime against people that is totally egalitarian-- and indiscriminate. It is perceived to be done in the name of some higher power, but it is egoistic. And anyone can be a terrorist, for any number of personal reasons. ... I, like the rest of us, want to get off the front line. Sowell's construct perpetrates the potential conflicts between groups. The more "human capital", the more resources these disenfranchised individuals have to institutionalize their frustration. Let's not drive any more into their embrace. Most of the world's ordinary people (maybe not political leadership, however) must take each person, each situation as it comes, rather than to fear strangers and treat them proactively with oppression. That's what everyday life is all about, and there is only so much time in a lifetime. The challenge for governments (with their perpetual life) is to learn who someone is, before you begin the planning to deal with them, let alone the generations of their children after them. Prejudice in government leads to institutionalized repression of a people and their potential contributions -- and denies a society of human capital -- which is a pity for the society. Worse yet is when these discontent individuals band together, with whatever their resources, and intend to create change, for change's sake. Hate is an irrational, destabilizing force in society which puts all of us "hate objects" on the front line -- and without our knowing about it. As a preemptive measure to future terrorist attack, I think it would be valuable to talk to ordinary people around the world (both "conquerers" and "conquered", using Sowell's terms) to better discern the nature of the hate, and why it is being directed toward us, and begin to defuse this terrible energy. ... This diplomacy plan would not preclude covert agents from quietly going out and getting all members of the terrorist cells that had anything to do with the September 11 events. Put them through the American Justice system --- and give the justice system a chance to redeem itself in the eyes of Americans from the fiasco of the presidential election. It would be a "win-win" if we could restore our confidence in the American system of justice, with appropriate consequences for these terrible individuals. ...
Rating:
Summary: Well *Worth* the Price
Review: From a purely theoretical and economical standpoint, this work, like Dr. Sowell's others, is of outstanding quality. Unlike other writes of this sensitive topic, Dr. Sowell takes an unbiased, impartial, and neutral stance throughout the course of this book. Among his many theories is that the development of some races and the under-development of others lies in ancestral differences in geography and does not lie in genetic differences, contrary to the opinions of some notable sociologists. "..the continent of Europe has had virtually every geographic advantage over the continent of Africa.", which includes more arable land, many navigable rivers and deep harbours, as well as a climate favourable for irrigation. However, Sowell is more of an economist than a sociologist, and much of the content of this book is taken from an economical perspective, devaluing some of the propositions in this work. Dr. Sowell's belief that the measure of human worth lies solely in the value of his "human capital", in the economical sense of the word, is gravely mistaken. While in a market economy and in a money-driven society, "human capital" is of great importance, so is human character. And it is this undervaluing of human character that is precisely the cause of much wrongdoing in society in this capitalistic world.
Rating:
Summary: excellent reading
Review: I'm fairly interested in ethinic diasporia and how cultures/traditions stick with ethnic groups through time. I though I would read race and culture after I read Thomas Sowell's Ethinic America which is another great book. Race and culture is good because it really deals a lot with how things like geographic conditions influence culture and econmic development. There are also things such a good history of slavery, broader then the history taught in our schools. The book goes into great depth about how immigrants have changed and been changed by moving to different parts of the world. The book also deals with how certain professions and cultural qualities stick with a group through time and how different ethnic/religous minorities have been treated through time. It really helps with understanding race on more of a global scale.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: In Race and Culture, Thomas Sowell's research and analysis are so skewed as to be laughable. Knowing that he is just plain wrong with some pronouncements leads me to distrust all his conclusions. Here's a sample. In a chapter called Race and Politics, Sowell devotes a section to military politics, in which the following paragraph appears: "Where the external enemy is of the same race or ethnicity as one of the internal ethnic minorities, however, that group may well suffer from the animosities generated in warfare. Germans in Russia, Australia, and Brazil, for example, suffered from Germany's warfare against these countries during both World Wars. But this is not inevitable. In the United States, the anti-German feelings of the First World War were not repeated in the Second, and hostile feelings against Japanese Americans were very quickly turned around by their own proofs of patriotism at home and abroad." Is he kidding? Many Japanese-Americans lost homes, businesses, and their freedom during World War II, spending the duration of the war years interned in camps. Sowell is right that their patriotism was unquestionable. Young Japanese-American men acquitted themselves admirably during the war, putting their lives in danger for a country that had imprisoned their families. At the end of the war, the former internees started over from scratch, having been robbed of their homes and livelihoods. How does this qualify as a quick turn around of hostile feelings?
Rating:
Summary: Balanced, scholarly treatment of a difficult subject
Review: Race and Culture" would more accurately be titled "Culture and Race". The book is a masterful treatment of cultural differences worldwide and how they have directed the course that our world's societies have taken. Race (the hot-button) get's a less extensive treatment. On this topic of race, the book is most provocative in Sowell's chapter "Race and Intelligence". Sowell is clear in his analysis and the reader comes away feeling that he has presented a balanced set of findings. Sowell is careful with his assumptions; he extensively reports the results of IQ tests worldwide without going so far as to suggest that these tests actually measure innate intellectual ability. Although he unflinchingly points to differences which fall along racial lines, he also points to the fact that these test scores change over time (dramatically in some cases, with some American immigrant groups acquiring 18 points of IQ as their racial group assimilated into American culture and the academic tradition.) Differences in test scores, therefore, are presented as differences in performance. It is undeniable that some groups, such as African Americans, consistently score lower on certain standardized tests. It takes a balanced look at all the data to understand why. As an African American who is interested in such issues, I came away feeling that Sowell had not ducked the hard issues, considered all of the evidence, and reached valid conclusions. At the end of the day it is clear that Sowell is an economist; one can almost see supply and demand curves superimposed on the page behind the wording. If there is a flaw in the book it is that his academic viewpoint as an economist skews his view of human nature. We're presented with repeated examples of the un-economic results of discrimination. While we know that this is true, we also know that people often make un-economic decisions for emotional reasons. This, however is nit-picking (it is easy to bash economists). Overall this is a balanced treatment and an impressive work of scholarship that will leave the reader thinking. This is a book to which I'll refer in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Balanced, scholarly treatment of a difficult subject
Review: Race and Culture" would more accurately be titled "Culture and Race". The book is a masterful treatment of cultural differences worldwide and how they have directed the course that our world's societies have taken. Race (the hot-button) get's a less extensive treatment. On this topic of race, the book is most provocative in Sowell's chapter "Race and Intelligence". Sowell is clear in his analysis and the reader comes away feeling that he has presented a balanced set of findings. Sowell is careful with his assumptions; he extensively reports the results of IQ tests worldwide without going so far as to suggest that these tests actually measure innate intellectual ability. Although he unflinchingly points to differences which fall along racial lines, he also points to the fact that these test scores change over time (dramatically in some cases, with some American immigrant groups acquiring 18 points of IQ as their racial group assimilated into American culture and the academic tradition.) Differences in test scores, therefore, are presented as differences in performance. It is undeniable that some groups, such as African Americans, consistently score lower on certain standardized tests. It takes a balanced look at all the data to understand why. As an African American who is interested in such issues, I came away feeling that Sowell had not ducked the hard issues, considered all of the evidence, and reached valid conclusions. At the end of the day it is clear that Sowell is an economist; one can almost see supply and demand curves superimposed on the page behind the wording. If there is a flaw in the book it is that his academic viewpoint as an economist skews his view of human nature. We're presented with repeated examples of the un-economic results of discrimination. While we know that this is true, we also know that people often make un-economic decisions for emotional reasons. This, however is nit-picking (it is easy to bash economists). Overall this is a balanced treatment and an impressive work of scholarship that will leave the reader thinking. This is a book to which I'll refer in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Cultural Explanations for Racial Differences
Review: The book explains that culture has a lot to do with racial and ethnic differences and groups often retain their characteristics wherever they go in the world. For example, the Irish are often heavily involved in politics as leaders especially, the Italians have been known to be great architects, the Germans are known to be hard-working farmers, and the Jews are known to high risk loan lenders and also garmet/fashion employees. The book also covers middleman minorities such as oversees Chinese in Malaysia, Indians in Eastern Africa, and Jews worldwide. It explains why such minorities are resented for their financial success in whatever country they set up shop in and how they get kicked out of the country sometimes even though they greatly helped build the economy. They get accused of exploiting the natives and political pressure is put on them to hire the natives in their industry. Sowell gives the example of Jews who charge high interest for their loans because no one else will take chances on people with poor credit history and who stand a great chance of defaulting on a loan. The Jews must be financially responsible to keep their loan business going so they don't mix too much socially with their customers so as not to take on their bad financial habits. Cultures and ethnic groups that were once backwards become advanced over time especially if they are conquered by a people with a superior culture. Sowell gives the example of the ancient Britons who were conquered by the Romans and became more advanced culturally than the Irish or Scots who were not conquered. Sowell also explains that a region must have navigable rivers or or be located on the coastline to be advanced culturally. It is easier to tranport people and goods and therefore ideas in such societies and they become more advanced than rural regions, islands, and mountainous regions that are less populated. He says that one of the reasons that Africa is backward culturally is that there are not many navigable rivers as opposed to Europe.
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