In 1656; a Maryland planter tortured and killed an enslaved man named Antonio; an Angolan who refused to work in the fields. Three hundred years later; Simon P. Owens battled soul-deadening technologies as well as the fiction of race that divided him from his co-workers in a Detroit auto-assembly plant. Separated by time and space; Antonio and Owens nevertheless shared a distinct kind of political vulnerability; they lacked rights and opportunities in societies that accorded marked privileges to people labeled white. An American creation myth posits that these two black men were the victims of racial discrimination; a primal prejudice that the United States has haltingly but gradually repudiated over the course of many generations. In "A Dreadful Deceit;" award-winning historian Jacqueline Jones traces the lives of Antonio; Owens; and four other African Americans to illustrate the strange history of race in America. In truth; Jones shows; race does not exist; and the very factors that we think of as determining it a person s heritage or skin colorare mere pretexts for the brutalization of powerless people by the powerful. Jones shows that for decades; southern planters did not even bother to justify slavery by invoking the concept of race; only in the late eighteenth century did whites begin to rationalize the exploitation and marginalization of blacks through notions of racial difference. Indeed; race amounted to a political strategy calculated to defend overt forms of discrimination; as revealed in the stories of Boston King; a fugitive in Revolutionary South Carolina; Elleanor Eldridge; a savvy but ill-starred businesswoman in antebellum Providence; Rhode Island; Richard W. White; a Union veteran and Republican politician in post-Civil War Savannah; and William Holtzclaw; founder of an industrial school for blacks in Mississippi; where many whites opposed black schooling of any kind. These stories expose the fluid; contingent; and contradictory idea of race; and the disastrous effects it has had; both in the past and in our own supposedly post-racial society. Expansive; visionary; and provocative; "A Dreadful Deceit" explodes the pernicious fiction that has shaped four centuries of American history."
#761060 in Books Robin Lane Fox 2008-04-08 2008-04-08Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.88 x 6.00l; 1.43 #File Name: 0465024971672 pagesThe Classical World An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. that is so easy to readBy alan fishmanI am reading it for the second time......hard to find a single volume on this subject; that is so easy to read; flows; and does not get bogged down in detail which nobody really remembers.....great read!2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. For History FansBy Christian FiscoAn interesting and in depth look at ancient/classical history. There is a huge section on Roman history which I found absolutely fascinating!26 of 28 people found the following review helpful. Sweeping history of the Classical WorldBy Steven PetersonRobin Lane Fox has authored a sweeping history of what he calls "The Classical World;" from Homer's Greece to Hadrian's Roman Empire. While a work of such scope means that there cannot be great depth in discussing any point in that era; on the other hand; it provides a bird's eye view of issues; themes; and change over time. The author himself notes that (page xv): "It is a challenge to be asked to write a history of some none hundred years; especially when the evidence is so scattered and diverse; but it is a challenge which I have enjoyed."Some definitional issues. Lane defines "The Classical World" as (page 1) ". . .the world of the ancient Greeks and Romans; some forty lifetimes before our own but still able to challenge us by a humanity shared with ours." Fox ceases his narrative with the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Why? Lane says (page 2): ". . .'classical literature' ends in his reign. . . ." Even more important Page 2); ". . .is that Hadrian himself was the emperor with the most evident classicizing tastes."First; Fox focuses on three themes across this span of history--freedom; justice; and luxury. He believes that each of these--and the changes that occurred with time--can help explain the sweep of events.Second; he divides the time span into several eras; and treats each separately; although noting how the themes of freedom; justice; and luxury play out in each. "The Archaic Greek World" begins with Homer's Greece and concludes with the great Persian Wars. The next time period is what Fox refers to As "The Classical Greek World." This period runs from the rise of democratic Athens; the Peloponnesian War; Socrates; the rise of Philip of Macedon. The next phase is what he terms "Hellenistic Worlds;" beginning with Alexander the Great's incredible success and the development of one of the world's largest empires. This frame runs until the final struggles between Carthage and Rome. Fox then moves on to a discussion of "The Roman Republic." Here; he considers the increase in luxury in Rome; the intrigues among Pompey; Julius Caesar; and Caesar's death. He follows this with a discussion "From Republic to Empire." The chapters in this segment include the rise of Octavian (to Augustus); his conflicts with Mark Antony; the Civil War against the assassins of Caesar; and so on. The last portion of the book; "An Imperial World;" traces the post-Augustan period; concluding with Hadrian's rule.Under Hadrian; according to Fox (page 571): ". . .the two worlds of this book; the classical Greek and the Roman; came closely together. Hadrian's love of Greek culture is evident in his patronage; his favours for Greek cities (especially Athens) and his personal romantic life."In a history as large as this; one sacrifices depth for breadth. It is interesting to note Fox's rather dismissive treatment of Julius Caesar and Octavian/Augustus; as compared with more sympathetic treatments of each in the recent biographies by Goldsworthy and Everitt. Also; Everitt's biography of Cicero provides greater depth on that key figure in the period of time when the Republic was moving toward Empire. All in all; this is a well written book and worth looking at by those interested in this slice of history.
