Skin Deep: Journeys in the Divisive Science of Race
Give it up for Gavin Evans’s thorough and timely teardown of racial myths in Skin Deep: Journeys in the Divisive Science of Race. Informed by a background in law and political studies, as well as involvement in anti-apartheid movements in Cape Town, where he grew up, Evans frequently brings his unique expertise and experience to university lectures, the BBC World Service, and now your bookshelf. This triumphant volume debunks such popular fallacies as race-based IQ differences, jumping genes, and predictable variations in brain size and development across different—and arbitrary—racial categories. A hefty notes section is broken down by chapter for easy reference, listing the hundreds of sources used in the careful crafting of the text, and the final chapters provide both a warning and a call to action as race science is poised to make a comeback in these polarizing times. The best defense against misinformation is knowledge, and Skin Deep is an invaluable tool to add to your arsenal.
Skin Deep: Journeys in the Divisive Science of Race, Gavin Evans, Oneworld Publications, Hardcover $27.95 (400pp), 978-1-7860-7622-9
Danielle Ballantyne
