The Conversation by Robert Livingston takes a lot of information， much of which you may have known， and puts it into a form that is more open-hearted as well as usable for having conversations about race and racism。 I have a feeling his workshops sneak up on the members just as this book did on me。 In my case， the sneaking up was more about attitude than information。 I can easily become too confrontational during these discussions and when I do it no longer matters how good the information I hav The Conversation by Robert Livingston takes a lot of information， much of which you may have known， and puts it into a form that is more open-hearted as well as usable for having conversations about race and racism。 I have a feeling his workshops sneak up on the members just as this book did on me。 In my case， the sneaking up was more about attitude than information。 I can easily become too confrontational during these discussions and when I do it no longer matters how good the information I have is， I have done my part to construct a barrier to understanding。 I admit that part of the issue for me is that I have lost faith in human beings， I no longer believe they are mostly good and will change course with the right help。 Livingston approaches these people with far more compassion than I have usually been able to muster， which not only chips away at any barrier but often puts everyone on the same side， as it should be。If you aren't familiar with the research or the many examples of racism， both individual and systemic， then this book will offer those pieces in ways that don't insist that you suddenly change your world， just that you begin to look at the world differently， at least with respect to race。 If you are familiar with a lot of the research and stories from people's lives， this book will help you find ways to open the path to genuine discussion rather than the path to arguing。 In particular， you will pick up on what issues warrant what research or real life examples to start the conversation or， perhaps more important， keep the conversation going。I recommend this to anyone who cares at all about race in the United States。 Whether you have no doubt about the presence of systemic racism or you have doubts that it even exists， this book will offer ways to think about it without being either preachy or condescending。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more