Inventing America's "Worst" Family: Eugenics, Islam, and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael [Paperback]

Nathaniel Deutsch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0520255240 | ISBN-13: 978-0520255241 | Edition: 1

This book tells the stranger-than-fiction story of how a poor white family from Indiana was scapegoated into prominence as America's "worst" family by the eugenics movement in the early twentieth century, then "reinvented" in the 1970s as part of a vanguard of social rebellion. In what becomes a profoundly unsettling counter-history of the United States, Nathaniel Deutsch traces how the Ishmaels, whose patriarch fought in the Revolutionary War, were discovered in the slums of Indianapolis in the 1870s and became a symbol for all that was wrong with the urban poor. The Ishmaels, actually white Christians, were later celebrated in the 1970s as the founders of the country's first African American Muslim community. This bizarre and fascinating saga reveals how class, race, religion, and science have shaped the nation's history and myths.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An insightful new study."--Reason

"Recommended."--Choice

From the Inside Flap

"Inventing America's Worst Family is an important, refreshing, and interesting work. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this account is its placement at the center of a larger narrative about America's obsession with Orientalism. The story emerges gracefully and compellingly; Deutsch clearly presents new material and has gone to great efforts to track what actually became of the Ishmael group, and its origins."--Wendy Kline, author of Building a Better Race: Gender, Sexuality, and Eugenics from the Turn of the Century to the Baby Boom

"This is one of the most intriguing, imaginative works of history I've read in quite some time. Inventing America's Worst Family advances historical scholarship on poverty and eugenics in compelling ways, with its deep analysis of institutional realities and cultural trends. Deutsch combines a terrific story with his own impressive narrative talent; the book is ingeniously conceived, brilliantly researched, and beautifully told!"--J. Terry Todd, Drew University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (January 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520255240
• ISBN-13: 978-0520255241
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > History

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Customer Reviews

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth your time, August 31, 2009

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Milton E. Reynolds "Life as learner" (S.F., California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inventing America's "Worst" Family: Eugenics, Islam, and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael (Paperback)

Nathaniel Deutsch's Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam, and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael is a wonderful contribution to the emerging scholarship about the history of eugenics.

While eugenics and the concept of race are more American than apple pie, most know little about it if anything at all. Inventing America's Worst Family is an engaging read that is both literary and historically informative. The book is meticulously research and the narrative is tightly woven such that readers can imagine themselves in Indiana as the history is playing out as they flip page after page.

The book is dense and packed with information, but is very readable. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the subject matter of eugenics or wants to understand the intersection between this movement and social reform movements.

His command of this history is impressive and I suspect this book will incite additional works as well as become a go to reference for others.