How much of our fate is tied to the status of our parents and grandparents? How much does this influence our children? More than we wish to believe. While it has been argued that rigid class structures have eroded in favor of greater social equality, The Son Also Rises proves that movement on the social ladder has changed little over eight centuries. Using a novel technique--tracking family names over generations to measure social mobility across countries and periods--renowned economic historian Gregory Clark reveals that mobility rates are lower than conventionally estimated, do not vary across societies, and are resistant to social policies. The good news is that these patterns are driven by strong inheritance of abilities and lineage does not beget unwarranted advantage. The bad news is that much of our fate is predictable from lineage. Clark argues that since a greater part of our place in the world is predetermined, we must avoid creating winner-take-all societies. Clark examines and compares surnames in such diverse cases as modern Sweden, fourteenth-century England, and Qing Dynasty China. He demonstrates how fate is determined by ancestry and that almost all societies--as different as the modern United States, Communist China, and modern Japan--have similarly low social mobility rates. These figures are impervious to institutions, and it takes hundreds of years for descendants to shake off the advantages and disadvantages of their ancestors. For these reasons, Clark contends that societies should act to limit the disparities in rewards between those of high and low social rank. Challenging popular assumptions about mobility and revealing the deeply entrenched force of inherited advantage, The Son Also Rises is sure to prompt intense debate for years to come.

在本书中，“种族与其说是强调不同民族的生理方面，毋宁说是强调它们的社会文化方面。”在我们的印象中种族是与“种族歧视”、“种族偏见”联系在一起的，而当讨论“近代中国之种族观念”时，因为近代中国之内忧外患的特殊历史，种族观念最重要的表现形式是民族主义，所谓“中华民族，到了最危险时刻”，人们思考和行动的主要方向就是“保种强国”。但是，本书所论没有这么简单，它追述了近代中国种族观念的复杂历程，展示了近代中国种族观念的复杂形态。种族是“作为文化的种族”、“作为类型的种族”、“作为宗教的种族”“作为民族的种 族”、“作为种类的种族”、“作为种子的种族”和“作为阶级的种族”。“种族观念”是近代中国的核心观念之一，对它的思考无疑会丰富我们看待那段历史的眼光，特别是这种民族主义的意识形态在今日仍还有着重要的影响。

Volumes I & II in paperback of this 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrated narrative of Holocaust survival.

通过一个孩子的眼睛描绘了20世纪30年代，战争与动乱不断的索马里（somalia），展现了东非人民当时的痛苦生活，也和我们探讨了在面临困境时，人类承受力的极限。 《黑曼巴男孩》的男主人公是一个10岁的小淘气鬼，名叫杰玛（jama）。他孩提时就被生活作风不良的父亲所遗弃，美丽坚强的母亲又突然撒手人寰，于是只得成天游荡在街头巷尾。这位靠着街头智慧才得以生存下去的流浪儿一天天地长大，并且莫名地不断被牵扯进一些非洲历史上极富戏剧化的大事件之中。时值二战爆发，意大利法西斯部队控制着一部分东非地区，正在为恶战作准备。杰玛却开始了寻找自我的历程，他非常想知道亲生父亲是否仍活在某个地方。在周游世界的艰辛路途中，他跋山涉水，经历了许多艰难险阻，终于明白了自己和父亲是不同的。父亲如同当时非洲的大部分男人，四处游荡，拥有许多妻子，在每一个情人那里作短暂的停留，然后迅速离开；而杰玛却最终找到了自己的爱人，停泊在了只属于自己的爱情港口。《黑曼巴男孩》是一部励志的长篇小说，能打动每一个读者内心最坚强，同时也是最柔软的地方。

At first blush readers may be a bit off-put at a black woman writing a history of white people and the usual questions are likely to arise. But as a historian it is Nell Irvin Painter's job to transcend identities such as race and gender and to remain objective about her subject matter. There are many compelling arguments about the relative pros and cons of writing about a part of your identity or about an identity other than your own. Those arguments aside, Painter sets an ambitious goal of writing a history on the construct of the white race; the who, what, where, when, why and how of its origins, its evolution and change over time, and its greater societal significance and meaning to our present day and age. Rather than an angry diatribe against racism Painter seeks to provide a narrative of the evolution of white identity.

作为一个生活在布鲁克林黑人区的男孩，詹姆斯·麦克布莱德知道他的母亲是与众不同的。但是每当他向妈妈问起这个问题时，母亲总是简短地回答：“我只不过是肤色略为浅一点罢了。”后来，他开始疑惑自己是否也跟母亲一样属于异类，缠着母亲追问他到底是白人还是黑人。“你是一个人，”母亲的回答的回答斩钉截铁，“多学点知识，否则你将一无是处！”当詹姆斯问起上帝是什么颜色时，她说到：“上帝的肤色是水的颜色”……在长大成人之