Read a Book!: A Practical Guide to Racism
March 30, 2009
A Practical Guide to Racism
by C. H. Dalton
I saw this book in hardcover in the humor section of book stores occasionally, and thought the idea was hilarious. Once I saw it in paperback I went and bought it. And, boy, do I have the buyer’s remorse.
I realize that humor is subjective; what one person finds funny, another finds stupid. From the title, I expected the book to be a farce detailing how to be a racist against the 9 races in the book (Hispanics, Jews, Whites, Indians/Injuns, Blacks, Asians, Merpeople, Arabs, and Gypsies). The book actually is a farce of a moral relativist anthropologist trying to explain the quibbles of those races, poorly. The vast majority of the jokes fall flat. In fact, outside of the glossary in the back (stupid explanations of racial slurs abound), I cannot actually remember if I laughed at all.
In conclusion, this book is a potentially funny concept ruined. The Jon Stewart blurb should have been a hint. “Read it with someone you hate”, indeed; reading it with a friend would give you a new enemy (like recommending Atari’s E.T. game). Read a Different Book!
