By Herbert Adolphus Miller, PH.D.

Group Dynamics: The book explores the psychology of domination and freedom within groups, emphasizing the importance of mutual understanding and the development of sentiments for resolving conflicts.

Americanization: It discusses the challenges and paradoxes of Americanization, highlighting the need for a rational and empathetic approach to integrating immigrants.

Pseudo-Science Critique: The author criticizes the misuse of pseudo-science in justifying social hierarchies and emphasizes the need for genuine scientific methods.

Historical Context: The book provides a historical analysis of various social and political conflicts, drawing lessons from past mistakes to suggest better approaches for the future.

Read-Me.Org, 2024, 196 pages

By Mieko Nishida

●Thematic Focus: The book offers a new interpretation of urban slaveryin Salvador, Brazil, from 1808 to 1888, exploring the self-perceptions and identities of enslaved Africans and their descendants during theslavery regime, emphasizing factors like ethnicity, gender, and race.

●Structural Overview: It is divided into three parts, each examiningdifferent aspects of identity creation among African-born and Brazilian-born individuals, with chapters detailing the creation, representation,convergence, and re-creation of identities within the historical contextof New World slavery.

●Research Foundation: Nishida's work is grounded in primary sources and reflects her personal journey of identity search, paralleling the experiences of her subjects who navigated their identities amidst socio-political transitions in Brazil, such as the end of the transatlantic slave trade and the abolition of slavery.

Indiana University Press, 2003, 255 pages