The Things They Say behind Your Back

In this groundbreaking book in the dim world of opinion formation Helm reich opens a closet bursting with skeletons and explores the myths and his torical roots of stereotypes pertaining to several ethnic groups: Are Jews re ally smarter? What about rhythmical Blacks, hard-drinking Irishmen, dumb Poles, emotional Hispanics, and all those cold, artificial WASPs sipping in evitable dry martinis? He discusses which stereotypes are false, which are true, how they originated, and why some of the most libeled groups pro mote warped perceptions about themselves.Helmreich has examined over four hundred scientific studies and com bines hard facts with humor, anecdotes, and common sense in his courage ous attempt to understand and explain stereotypes. He contends that we should discuss this topic openly and recognize the tendencies and traits, negative and positive,-that are rooted in a group's history and culture rather than pretend that there are no differences among the members of multiracial America.