Light, bright, and damned near white : biracial and triracial culture in America /

This chatty, very introductory text challenges simplistic notions of race by demonstrating how multiracial/multicultural individuals in the US are caught in a historically saturated matrix of dominant ethno-racial categories. The subject is personal for the author, and her focus throughout is on ethno-racial identity and the desire to foster new identities that allow for mixed racial categorization. The topic is excellent, but the author's attempt to combat ignorance and confusion is sorely lacking. The book is introduced as "part memoir, part sociological and anthropological musing as well as historical overview" that includes an attempt to "assist readers in their search for ancestry," yet it does not wholly succeed in any of these efforts. The chapters are too analytically thin to persuade, and the mix of information and argument lacks the careful development necessary to overcome mainstream, commonsense resistance to unquestioned assumptions. The book not only is overly ambitious, but also is full of problematic statements and definitions like "all Hispanics are basically triracial." The final part, "Tool Box of Change," reveals a peculiar bias in the organizations and resources highlighted. Readers should instead seek any introductory text on racial and ethnic relations. Summing Up: Not recommended. G. Marti Davidson College