A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America

A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America

By: Ronald Takaki  

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Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Is this book biased? - Yes.... if you are a card carrying member of the white race desperate to cling to the myth that America is a good and just nation... one that should be held up as an example for the rest of the world to gaze at in awe... BUT If you are just a citizen, interested in a complete history of your country (warts and all) this book will fill in so many of the gaps your text books left blank

Customer Review: 2 out of 5
Lessons in multiculturalism - He gives some needed attention to different perspectives in American history. It is valuable, but I have problems. For one, he lumps Euro-American together too much as one monolithic bad group. Different socioeconomic, geographical and religious groups of Euro-American have responded much differently than his stereotype suggests. (such as Quaker efforts to fight against slavery and for the arrest of those who attacked Native Americans.)
Also, this text comes in the context of a university system that won't allow similar texts about non-European civilizations. Virtually every literate civilization was sexist and, to one degree or other, oppressed and killed people who were different from the dominant male group (although usually not for racial reasons, I don't think that mattered much to the people these civilizations killed or oppressed.)
I did an internet search of university classes--not one that I could find offered anything close to a critical evaluation of a non-Euro civilization. Evidence exists in abundance--for example Asian primary sources describe massacres of indigenous peoples during state expansion (as Euro-Americans did in American expansion) but these indigenous peoples never get a voice or more than a footnote in mainstream Western histories of Asia (although the facts are freely acknowledged in Asian histories of Asia.) Some Islamic imperialists, contrary to Western ivory tower beliefs, did massacre and oppress people because of their religion (as described by contemporary Muslim historians and accounts of their Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian and Hindu victims.) Instead of acknowledging a real diversity of Muslim civilizations over time which ranged from enlightened to totalitarian, we get assigned books like "Good Muslim, Bad Muslim" which rationalize every unprovoked act of imperialism over the last 1,400 years. Europhile liberals even want to minimize some of what Europe did compared to what the United States did. The university itself won't be free of bias until we can actually see Empires like the Aztec and Assyrian analyzed not only by the view of the dominant male groups in those societies, but also by the women and conquered people, without the rationalizations currently employed. Multicultural historians don't seem to notice the irony that histories of these non-Euro empires have the same bias of having only one perspective that tradional American history books had. If anyone challenges this they cry "colonialist" just as older Euro-American historians would cry "unpatriotic" when their biases were being questioned.

Customer Review: 2 out of 5
We get it... Euro-Americans are evil! - I had to read this book for a class and write an essay on it. I gave this book two stars because it is informative. Otherwise, it's a book that makes "white" people look horrible. What about all of the other cultures that systematically perform atrocities on their people? If you want to feel guilty about being white, read this book. It is good to know the history in this book and to learn that these cultural-hate-crimes should not be repeated.

Customer Review: 1 out of 5
HORRIBLE!!!! - I hated this book. Needed it for a "multicultural awareness in education" class. It was boring, hard to follow, difficult to understand and written in some sort of "language" that only Einstein could comprehend.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Very Biased and Very Good - If one were to write a history of any nation exclusively from the perspective of minority groups would it be a fair, complete and accurate portrait of that nation's story, character and culture? Probably not, but nonetheless you would have a penetrating look inside the world view of those who may get overlooked in the panoramic style of many history books. This is what you walk away with from Ronald Takaki's wonderful book `A Different Mirror'.

The book is somewhat dated considering many newly published American history books include the tales of blacks, women, Indians, Jews and even gays but `A Different Mirror' remains valuable because Takaki provides nuggets of information about the contributions of particular groups that aren't well know but are important and deserve acknowledgement.

A downside to this book, and it's serious, is that with the use of Shakespearean and other literary references, Takaki weaves a common thread of victimhood among all groups, suggesting that American society is nothing close to what it claims to be in the preamble of the Constitution. No society is perfect and though groups in America may have been exploited, America does not hold a monopoly on exploitation. Yet millions of minorities continue to rush into this nation for its distinct qualities that are rare and non-existent in other parts of the world. It would have enhanced Takaki's goal, which was to tell the stories of minority groups, if he didn't overlook the positive factors that compelled many to select this country.

If you want an introduction into American history this shouldn't be the only book you read, but `A Different Mirror' is enjoyable and highly recommended for anyone who wants to get a fuller picture of the American story.

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