Man's most dangerous myth : the fallacy of race

Montagu, Ashley, 1905- (Author).

Summary: "Man's Most Dangerous Myth was first published in 1942, when Nazism flourished, when African Americans sat at the back of the bus, and when race was considered the determinant of people's character and intelligcnce. Ashley Montagu presented a revolutionary theory for his time: Breaking the link between genetics and culture, he argued that race is largely a social construction, and not constitutive of significant biological differences between people." "This new edition contains Montagu's most complete explication of his theory and a thorough updating of previous editions. The sixth edition takes on the issues of the Bell Curve, IQ testing, ethnic cleansing, and other contemporary race relations topics, as well as contemporary restatements of topics in previous editions. A bibliography of over 3,000 published items on race, compiled over a lifetime of work, is of enormous research value. Also available is an abridged student edition containing the essence of Montagu's argument, its policy implications, and his thoughts on contemporary race issues for use in classrooms. Ahead of its time in 1942, Montagu's arguments still contribute essential and salient perspectives as we face issues of race in the 1990s."--BOOK JACKET.

Record details

ISBN: 9780803946484 (pbk.)
ISBN: 0803946481 (pbk.)
Physical Description: print
699 p. : maps ; 24 cm.
Edition: 6th ed.
Publisher: Walnut Creek, CA : AltaMira, c1997.

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:

Foreword to the First Edition / Aldous Huxley -- Foreword to the Sixth Edition / C. Loring Brace -- Preface to the Sixth Edition / John H. Stanfield II -- 1. The Origin of the Concept of Race -- 2. The Fallaciousness of the Older Anthropological Conception of Race -- 3. The Genetical Theory of Race -- 4. The Biological Facts -- 5. Natural Selection and the Mental Capacities of Humankind -- 6. The Mythology of Race, or "For Whom the Bell Tolls" -- 7. Race and Society -- 8. Biological and Social Factors -- 9. Psychological Factors -- 10. The Creative Power of Ethnic Mixture -- 11. Eugenics, Genetics, and Race -- 12. Race and Culture -- 13. Race and War -- 14. Race and Blood -- 15. Innate Aggression and Race -- 16. Myths Relating to the Physical Traits of Blacks -- 17. Are the Jews a Race? -- 18. The First Americans -- 19. The Meaning of Equal Opportunity -- 20. Race and Democracy -- 21. Racism and Social Action -- 22. Sociocultural Behavioral Influences -- 23. Intelligence, IQ, and Race -- App. A. Ethnic Group and Race -- App. B. The Fallacy of the Primitive -- App. C. The Term Miscegenation -- App. D. Intelligence of Northern Blacks and Southern Whites in the First World War.