#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ΓÇó NEW YORK TIMES READERS PICK: 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY ΓÇó OPRAHΓÇÖS BOOK CLUB PICK ΓÇó ΓÇ£An instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöDwight Garner,The New York Times The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions. #1 NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington PostThe New York TimesLos Angeles TimesBoston GlobeO: The Oprah MagazineNPRBloombergThe Christian Science MonitorNew York PostThe New York Public LibraryFortuneSmithsonian MagazineMarie ClaireSlateLibrary JournalKirkus Reviews Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize ΓÇó National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist ΓÇó Winner of the Carl Sandburg Literary Award ΓÇó Dayton Literary Prize Finalist ΓÇó PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction Finalist ΓÇó PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Finalist ΓÇó Kirkus Prize Finalist ΓÇ£As we go about our daily livescaste is the wordless usher in a darkened theaterflashlight cast down in the aislesguiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about powerΓÇöwhich groups have it and which do not.ΓÇ¥ Beyond raceclassor other factorsthere is a powerful caste system that influences peopleΓÇÖs lives and behavior and the nationΓÇÖs fate. Linking the caste systems of AmericaIndiaand Nazi GermanyIsabel Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizationsincluding divine willbloodlinesstigmaand more. Using riveting stories about peopleΓÇöincluding Martin Luther KingJr.baseballΓÇÖs Satchel Paigea single father and his toddler sonWilkerson herselfand many othersΓÇöshe shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. Finallyshe points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisionstoward hope in our common humanity.