Routledge Diverse Nations: Explorations in the History of Racial and Ethnic Pluralism (United States in the World)

One of the world's leading historians of race relations, George Fredrickson in his newest book probes the history of racial and ethnic diversity in the United States and other parts of the world. Diverse Nations explores recent interpretations of slavery and race relations in the United States and introduces comparative perspectives on Europe, South Africa, and Brazil. Notably, the book features groundbreaking work comparing ethnoracial pluralism in France and the United States. In contrast to the similarities of race relations in the United States and South Africa, which both drew rigid domestic color lines, the United States and France have historically diverged greatly in their approaches to racial difference. Yet both are influenced by a common heritage of revolutionary republicanism, extensive immigration, and cultural pluralism. Fredrickson's rich comparisons provide stimulating new insights into the continuing impacts of slavery and beliefs about race upon our increasingly pluralistic societies. Review “For more than a generation, George Fredrickson was one of the leading historians of America’s racial theory and practice and one of our leading exponents of comparative history. Diverse Nations reveals how much is to be gained by seeing America’s racial history in an international perspective and confirms George Fredrickson’s eminence in both fields.” ―Kwame Anthony Appiah, Princeton University, author of In My Father’s House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture “Fredrickson’s thorough research, original insights, common-sense interpretations, and lucid prose made him a historian’s historian. … A graduate student preparing for a general examination in this field could do no better than to start with [Diverse Nations].” ―James M. McPherson, in The New York Review of Books “With a combination of concision, conceptual clarity, and vast learning, George Fredrickson, working on a broad international platform, clarifies and compares the nature of racial and ethnic experiences and policies―in the United States, South Africa, France, and Brazil, with less extended discussions of several other national experiences. There is no better or more fair-minded guide to these issues; Fredrickson’s sharply honed essays are essential reading.” ―Thomas Bender, New York University “No one can match the transnational erudition, acuity, and sensitivity that Fredrickson brings to the task. It is a great gift to have so many of Fredrickson’s best essays assembled in one volume, and to be able to encounter the full power and sweep of his historical imagination.” ―Gary Gerstle, Vanderbilt University, author of American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century “Because of his authority, all serious students of slavery and race will want to read George Fredrickson’s latest contribution, and those who have not studied these topics in any depth will find this an excellent introduction.” ―Robin Blackburn, The New School and the University of Essex, author of The Making of New World Slavery: From the Baroque to the Modern, 1492–1800 About the Author George M. Fredrickson is the Edgar E. Robinson Professor of U. S. History (Emeritus) at Stanford. His many books include the prize-winning White Supremacy: A Comparative Study in American and South African History and Racism: A Short History, which has been translated into five languages.