The History of White People

By Nell Irvin Painter

Ever since the Enlightenment, race theory and its inevitable partner, racism, have followed a crooked road, constructed by dominant peoples to justify their domination of others. Filling a huge gap in the historical literature that has long focused on the non-white, eminent historian Nell Irvin painter guides us through more than  two thousand years of Western civilization, tracing not only the invention of the idea of race but also the frequent worship of various white races for economic, social, and political ends. The History of White People is a mind-expanding and myth-destroying exploration of notions of white race-- not merely a skin color but also a signal of power, prestige, and beauty to be withheld and granted selectively.