Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life

Eller reads the audio edition of this influential sociological study, originally published in 2012 and now available in audio for the first time. Drawing on legal, linguistic, and sociological scholarship, the book makes a powerful and convincing analogy between the social constructs of “witchcraft” and “race,” arguing that they were both created, sustained, and pursued by dominant groups to divide society and exert power over other groups of people. For the most part, Eller hits the important points in the book with a clear and emphatic delivery that helps readers follow the authors’ argument. At other times, her painstakingly steady pacing and pronunciation creates a staccato rhythm that loses the listener. Still, the value of the book is making this conversation-shifting text accessible in the audio format, and Eller does a satisfactory job. A Verso paperback. (Aug.)