School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 9 Up?In his introduction, Aronson supplies a definition of the word "race" based on four assumptions, or "pillars," and then examines how each of them came into being historically. Then he literally begins at the beginning, starting with prehistoric hunter-gatherer tribes and works his way forward to modern Europe and the United States. He examines the roles of slaves and Jews throughout history and pays special attention to the plight of African Americans and various immigrants to America. Aronson inserts either powerful factual or imagined situations at the beginnings of many chapters to help readers understand the thinking of those in the chapter or to otherwise set the scene. Throughout, he relies on the period writings, letting the words of the authors demonstrate what and how race was thought of at the time. He doesn't stop with written sources, though, but also uses various illustrations of artwork, posters, charts, and graphs to show exactly what people of a given period would see as they were being persuaded of one theory or another. This is a tightly focused work that is sure to prompt thought and discussion. Aronson's rich notes and bibliography provide interested readers with many further avenues of research. An essential resource for anyone studying the idea of race.?Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.