""As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power--which groups have it and which do not." In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched...

"In Roots Quest, sociologist Jackie Hogan digs into our current genealogy boom to ask why we are so interested in our family history. She shows how the surging popularity of genealogy is a response to large-scale social changes, and she explores the way our increasingly rootless society fuels the quest for an elemental sense of belonging--for roots."--Provided by publisher.