I've had to enjoy Nell Irvin Painter's The History of White People via the Audible app on my phone; I was way too embarrassed to buy the book because visitors frequently browse my bookshelves at home, and I wouldn't want anyone seeing this title and giving me side-eye. It is not actually a history of white people at all, but a history of "white people," i.e. a history of the notion of whiteness and race, starting with the Greeks and moving all the way to the United States in the twentieth century. I've found it to be a really good non-fiction follow-up to Uncle Tom's Cabin, which left me with a lot of frustrations and questions. I also found it a particularly appropriate read (unfortunately) as I watched the news coverage of recent events in Ferguson.

The recommendation of this book came via Gene Denby, lead blogger for PostBourgie and CodeSwitch, and frequent contributor to NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. When Morning Edition does stories on race in America, he is usually the reporter you hear. I follow both his blogs as well as his Twitter feed and really enjoy his writing and analysis, so when he recommends something, I usually check it out (he also got me into the podcast The Read, which, if you don't listen to yet, you should start). If you are interested in reading about race in America, he is an excellent navigator and tastemaker.