Despite the long struggle to eliminate racism, it is still very much with us. In fact, since 9/11, racism appears to be on the rise, making it more important than ever before to understand the meaning of race and the effect it has on society.

Alana Lentin maps the emergence and development of ideas about race through political history right up to modern debates about multiculturalism and Islamophobia, and considers the implications of a ‘post-racial’ society at a time when science has placed genetics over culture. Provocative and intelligent reading for the newcomer and expert alike, this invaluable resource exposes the roots of racial thought and demonstrates why it has remained crucial to our everyday lives.

Alana Lentin is a lecturer in sociology at the University of Sussex. She is the author of Racism and Anti-Racism in Europe (2004) and is a regular contributor to openDemocracy.net. For more information please visit www.alanalentin.net.

“A provocative and stimulating book which deserves to be widely read.” Elaine Moriarty, lecturer in Sociology at Trinity College, Dublin

“I've learned an enormous lot from Alena Lentin's book. I only regret that a guide like this was not in existence when sixty years ago I started to study that phenomenon, one of the most insidious and complex of our times.” Zygmunt Bauman, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds