Publisher Description
Professor emeritus at the University of Vermont, James W. Loewen won the National Book Award for his New York Times best-seller, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Sundown Towns examines thousands of all-white American towns that were- and still are, in some instances-racially exclusive by design.
Download and start listening now!
“The best thing about this book is that it made the geography that I had always accepted as concrete something that was painfully alive. It was striking how many of the deeply segregated towns were familiar to me and helped me realize how pervasive segregation is in the Midwest. His analysis was sweeping and comprehensive, but sometimes felt a bit scattered. He incorporated the ideas of other scholars as well as primary sources, but it often felt blippy. Furthermore, the book already feels dated as it fails to mention the dynamic of white, suburban youth moving into previously non-white urban neighborhoods. Finally, in pointing out the worst of the sundown towns, he offers little insight or analysis into towns that have a multiracial population but whose various racial groups have little meaningful engagement. Still, I recommend this book to anyone who grew up in a racially homogenous community and is interested in understanding how this came to be and how it mediates one’s life and community.”
—
Geoff (4 out of 5 stars)
