Edo

Dear Mr. Aronson,

I greatly enjoyed your book, __Race__. It was very interesting and thought-provoking, and made me realize things about race and prejudice that I had never thougt about before. I’d like to know what gave you the inspiration to write about such a topic, when most people are uneasy to talk about it. At first, I didn’t think that any author would admit that they are prejudiced, but the introduction of your book talked about your own prejudices against African-Americans. That introduction really hooked me and got me interested in the book because it showed the reality of things, and I knew that I would be able to relate to the book, and understand it well. Another aspect of the book that reeled me in was your point of view from which you wrote the book. Sometimes, you wrote in third person, providing facts, but sometimes you wrote in second person, adressing the reader, as if having a conversation with them. This made the book much more exciting and made it very enjoyable to read.

I thought that most of the information about the history of racial prejudice was very interesting. However, sometimes I did feel that the book seemed too much like a textbook. In my opinion, the more interesting parts of the book were when you discussed the psychological aspects of racial prejudice, as well as when you discussed the connections between historical events that contributed to a certain prejudice. For example, I really liked how you showed the connection between the independence movement in India and the civil rights movement in the U.S., and showed how Howard Thurman was inspired by Gandhi. (223-5) I thought that some of the other information, though, such as your rant against Germans (208-9), wasn’t relevant, and didn’t contribute to the main ideas of the book. These opinions, while showing your honesty and admitting your bias, didn't flow with the rest of the chapter.

In addition to the information in the book about the holocaust, I am interested to know more about how Hitler and Nazi Germany built the idea that Jews were inferior and should be “exterminated.” I’d like to know your opinion on this, and why you think they were so successful in marketing their horrific ideas.

I’d also like to ask you some questions regarding the writing process of this book. How long did it take you to research and gather all of this information, and how did you decide what information to include and what not to include?

Thank you in advance for coming and answering these questions. I enjoyed your book immensely and can't wait to talk to you in person.

Sincerely, Edo Roth