This seminal book by one of our leading thinkers on race issues will forever change our views on race and ethnicity, culture, and the explosive policy issues that revolve around them, not only in contemporary America but in societies around the world and down through history.

Race and Culture brings together more than a decade of research, encompassing dozens of ethnic groups in scores of countries around the world, to challenge most of the fundamental assumptions underlying the whole spectrum of "social science" beliefs and government policies dealing with racial and ethnic minorities.

Its thesis is that differences in productive skills and cultural values are the key to understanding the advancement - or regression - of particular groups, particular countries, and whole civilizations.

Thomas Sowell concludes that cultural capital has far more impact than politics, prejudice, or genetics on the social and economic fates of minorities, nations, and civilizations. The spread of these skills across the planet, whether through migration or conquest, has shaped much of the history of the world and transformed its landscape.

Attempts to achieve through multiculturalism, affirmative action, or other policies what can only be achieved by the development of cultural capital are illusions and distractions only likely to make matters worse.