Kindle
$9.99
Available instantly
Hardcover
$20.99
Buy new:
-32% $20.99
FREE delivery Sunday, August 18 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$20.99 with 32 percent savings
List Price: $30.99

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Sunday, August 18 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Wednesday, August 14. Order within 3 hrs 3 mins.
In Stock
$$20.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$20.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$18.50
Pages clean, dust jacket included Pages clean, dust jacket included See less
FREE delivery Tuesday, August 20. Details
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, August 14. Order within 7 hrs 33 mins. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$20.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$20.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Ships from and sold by BookSnack.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Jens Kurt Heycke
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire: Multiculturalism in the World's Past and America's Future Hardcover – April 11, 2023

by Jens Kurt Heycke (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 25 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$20.99","priceAmount":20.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"20","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"zaz7XJ2jVuvvn4JwGnjQx7ylUJAlsCZmZF3TRK555ATWoEYpuHB2%2BJgyJjJ49MsGxN5yDTrL6IG24RlU2i%2FT0E3BTVGsyzHvLDWXg76v52sjDQMLsKZoB7kD%2BJ1wry3V1BzbvVFEtFVtBBDK8EB2ZA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$18.50","priceAmount":18.50,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"18","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"50","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"zaz7XJ2jVuvvn4JwGnjQx7ylUJAlsCZmCmNBIRkFTtRQfOirASwgfjwQ6e3LNIwsUf6d3EShk4Qb7sxhwaV0Gg3uxUDNPx%2Bo3OZtEzm02wwM2zSc9h5rsLofM%2B8gY80qZmqpjWwqWfn3RT%2F7oXryOGX5M05NWDrhhcOSfB4YIgARTCg0JbPkkg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

"Jens Kurt Heycke provides a much-needed, meticulously researched—and courageous—defense of the melting pot from classical antiquity to 21st-century America. His data and analyses show how and why the assimilationist model alone has always unified fractionalized ethnic and racial groups into a coherent national whole. Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire stands as a dire warning to beleaguered Western democracies that have foolishly rejected the melting pot that has so often proven the pathway to their survival and success."
—Victor Davis Hanson, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University

"Heycke's book should be on college reading lists for journalism, sociology, and economics courses that focus on ethnic diversity. It's an excellent text of applied cultural studies, but much more than that, it's a riveting, even haunting book of synthesis, one that pulls together ideas from past and present, from statistics and journalism...Heycke has done on-the-ground reporting in (at a minimum) the former Yugoslavia, Sri Lanka, and Rwanda, and his personal, almost intimate prose style pulled this reader into his world in a way that social science nonfiction rarely does. I'm so glad I read his book."
—Garett Jones, Professor of Economics, George Mason University, The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy.

As it absorbs record numbers of new immigrants, the U.S. faces critical questions: is it better to promote a unifying, shared identity that transcends ethnic differences or to foster a multicultural salad of distinct group identities? Is it better to minimize ethnic distinctions or to accentuate them with diversity initiatives and ethnic preferences? Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire takes a global, historical perspective to address these questions, examining how societies, from ancient Rome to modern Rwanda, have dealt with them. It provides essential analysis and data for America and other countries that are contemplating an increasingly multiethnic future.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Encounter Books
  4. Publication date
    April 11, 2023
  5. Reading age
    18 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1641773197
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1641773195
  9. See all details
Next slide of product details
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Frequently bought together

Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire: Multiculturalism in the World's Past and America's Future
This item: Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire: Multiculturalism in the World's Past and America's Future
$20.99
Get it as soon as Sunday, Aug 18
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Mere Natural Law: Originalism and the Anchoring Truths of the Constitution
Mere Natural Law: Originalism and the Anchoring Truths of the Constitution
$18.59
Get it as soon as Sunday, Aug 18
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
spCSRF_Treatment
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Heycke offers many other fascinating examples to prove his point regarding assimilation, from the Balkans to Rwanda to Sri Lanka. All of them strengthen the argument that the less a society retains a shared sense of identity that transcends racial or cultural markers, the less stable and more vulnerable that society will become."
—Casey Chalk, Law & Liberty


"In light of today's continual onslaught of multiculturalist messaging, Heycke's argument is more than welcome. For all its fanfare and apparent popular support, identity politics, particularly on the left (but also on the right, it should be noted), only worsens social division."
—Auguste Meyrat, Religion and Liberty, Acton Institute


"Heycke has visited 40 different countries as part of his research - from Rwanda and Botswana in Africa to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore in Asia; to the countries of the former Yugoslavia in the Balkans. Heycke has been so thorough that he spent a year writing a nine-page chapter on the Aztecs in present-day Mexico because he wanted to get to the bottom of the primary sources."
—Flemming Rose, Cato Institute, former foreign affairs editor of Jyllands-Posten.


"The United States has been, from its colonial beginnings, a multiethnic society. It has had to choose between being a melting pot society—assimilating newcomers and, while appreciating different heritages, seeking a single national identity—and a multicultural society, with separate enclaves and official quotas and preferences for those deemed members of different groups. Americans are not the first nation to face such a choice and, in Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire, Jens Kurt Heycke shows how other societies have faced this choice—and why Americans should embrace the melting pot model in the future."
—Michael Barone, senior political analyst, Washington Examiner, and founding co-author, The Almanac of American Politics


In his book Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire, Jens Heycke draws on case studies from mediaeval Mexico, post-Golden Age Islam, the Balkans in modernity, Rwanda before and during the genocide, and Sri Lanka's catastrophic civil war, to show how diverse societies that engage in ethnic preferentialism in politics and economics always devolve into a welter of bloodshed.
—Henry George, The Critic (UK)


"Out of the Melting Pot offers fascinating historical and recent examples of successful - and unsuccessful - multi-ethnic societies. We would do well to heed its warnings."
—Graeme Kemp, The Equiano Project

About the Author

JENS KURT HEYCKE was educated in Economics and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, the London School of Economics, and Princeton University. He worked as an early employee and executive in several successful technology startups, including one that pioneered the mobile Internet and produced software installed in more than a billion mobile phones. Since retiring from high tech, he has worked as a writer and independent researcher, conducting field research around the world, from Bosnia to Botswana. He is an internationally competitive masters cyclist, winning a bronze medal at the World Masters Games and top-ten places in other world championship events.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Encounter Books (April 11, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1641773197
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1641773195
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Jens Kurt Heycke

Jens Kurt Heycke

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
25 global ratings
Highly recommended - Intelligent and well-rounded
5 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended - Intelligent and well-rounded
Over the last few decades, America has steadily moved away from the melting pot ideal, focusing more and more on group distinctions and separate identities. That has gone hand-in-hand with the demand for compensatory measures to make up for past discrimination. This shift has mostly been well-intentioned: we want to make up for past racism and create an environment where every group feels valued.But is there a cost to emphasizing separate group identities over a unifying identity? How has it worked out the other times it has been tried in the past? Those are questions seldom asked, much less answered.This book answers them, with an exhaustive and sobering look at other societies that have favored identity politics over unity. It goes on to look at statistical data, showing how multiculturalism has had a profound impact on a wide array of social and economic factors.Overall, Heycke offers an intelligent and well-rounded take on the subject and provides much intriguing insight along the way. “Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire” is an essential read.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Oliver
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, well reasoned and well written
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful and wonderfully important book. The histories of the Balkans, Sri Lanka, Rwanda and Botswana have so much to teach us about how to get along, and how to flourish. This book presents those histories in a straightforward and compelling manner. Highly recommended
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
bluebell
5.0 out of 5 stars Very important take on identity politics
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
Identity politics are one of the hallmarks of our era. Yet, until this book, few analysts have investigated what the long-term results of relentlessly focusing on race and ethnicity will be.

This book provides us many lessons about identity politics in the past. Per Santayana's famous pronouncement, it is better to learn these lessons, than to repeat them. Highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
FeliciaReno
5.0 out of 5 stars A clarion warning against ethnic division
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
According to Ibram X. Kendi, " The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination."

This book evaluates that statement, using lots of historical examples; it establishes beyond any doubt that it is as dangerous as it is absurd.

Heycke goes beyond the narrower topic of affirmative action and addresses the broader question of whether societies are better served by a sense of shared identity (melting pot) or many separate identities (multiculturalism). He also provides many historical examples of that, going all the way back to the ancient Romans. Again, these examples underscore both the absurdity and danger of dividing people by ethnicity.

"Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire" is fascinating and essential reading. The research is impeccable.
9 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Yosemite
5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading in colleges
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
A brilliant exposition of the profound and often tragic consequences of focusing on ethnic distinctions. An important read in an era in which "melting pot" is termed a "micro-aggression."

I'm not sure I can state it better than Victor Davis Hanson's endorsement: this book is "meticulously researched" and "much needed."
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Peter Schultz
5.0 out of 5 stars The most important book published in the last 20 years?
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024
If you've been frustrated by the political divisions threatening the United States (or any country)--if you've been scared to talk to your friends and neighbors about certain subjects for fear of an explosive argument--then this book offers clarity and solution. The author provides fascinating and entertaining examples throughout history right up to the present era of the types of policies that divide people with sometimes heartbreaking and catastrophic consequences. But the book also shows how government policies can unite people, giving them hope, courage and a sense of unity beyond race, ethnicity, or economics. This book could not be more appropriate for the current era. I'm buying extra copies to give to my friends.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
M. Sliwa
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended - Intelligent and well-rounded
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2023
Over the last few decades, America has steadily moved away from the melting pot ideal, focusing more and more on group distinctions and separate identities. That has gone hand-in-hand with the demand for compensatory measures to make up for past discrimination. This shift has mostly been well-intentioned: we want to make up for past racism and create an environment where every group feels valued.

But is there a cost to emphasizing separate group identities over a unifying identity? How has it worked out the other times it has been tried in the past? Those are questions seldom asked, much less answered.

This book answers them, with an exhaustive and sobering look at other societies that have favored identity politics over unity. It goes on to look at statistical data, showing how multiculturalism has had a profound impact on a wide array of social and economic factors.

Overall, Heycke offers an intelligent and well-rounded take on the subject and provides much intriguing insight along the way. “Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire” is an essential read.
Customer image
M. Sliwa
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended - Intelligent and well-rounded
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2023
Over the last few decades, America has steadily moved away from the melting pot ideal, focusing more and more on group distinctions and separate identities. That has gone hand-in-hand with the demand for compensatory measures to make up for past discrimination. This shift has mostly been well-intentioned: we want to make up for past racism and create an environment where every group feels valued.

But is there a cost to emphasizing separate group identities over a unifying identity? How has it worked out the other times it has been tried in the past? Those are questions seldom asked, much less answered.

This book answers them, with an exhaustive and sobering look at other societies that have favored identity politics over unity. It goes on to look at statistical data, showing how multiculturalism has had a profound impact on a wide array of social and economic factors.

Overall, Heycke offers an intelligent and well-rounded take on the subject and provides much intriguing insight along the way. “Out of the Melting Pot, Into the Fire” is an essential read.
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer image
9 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mary C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Empirical evidence why the current push toward multiculturalism is a mistake
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2023
Heycke has put together an incredible amount of historical information. After reading the first four chapters, I moved on to the costs of ethnic divisions and the author's conclusions. The statistical information about previous National downfalls presents a worrisome picture of the future of our United States. Human history and social experiments " suggest that societies should avoid bolstering group differences and especially refrain from granting different treatment based on group membership." Read the book and see for yourself how often this has backfired. I highly recommend it.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Drosophila
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book that explores the costs of a divided society
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2023
If you want to know what the economic and social costs of dividing people by ethnicity are, this is an excellent place to start.

It exposes the reality that attempts to equalize outcomes for different groups or to favor one group usually make all groups worse off.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report