Whenever I wade into the subject of race, I never cease to be astounded at the things that people do to one another, and at the weirdness of it all.

This was a superb book on the history antimisecegenation laws, or antiamalgamation laws, as they were originally called. It focuses on Virginia and on the Loving case, which led to the Supreme Court overturning all such laws, but covers all states and all times since the American colonial era. Wallenstein also mentions a few cases in other countries, as well as similar controversies about same-sex marriages.

I found it a wonderfully informative book, and learned a number of things I didn't know. For one thing, the definition of "races" has varied across the country and throughout time. One unfortunte white woman married a "white" man as her second husband, and came close to losing her children when their stepfather was reclassified as "black." I had never understood the subtle change, probably affected by Brown vs Board of Education, that it was not sufficient for the states to treat various racial identities the same in forbidding marriages. They now had to be color-blind. And marriage came to be regarded as a fundamental right, meaning that the burden of the proof was on the state for justifying forbidding them. And I now have a better understanding of issue of whether the decisions are legislative or consitutional, i.e., to be decided by the courts.

Occasionally, I wished that Wallenstein had been a trifle more precise. Did the clause that led to Vermont's civil unions for homosexuals refer specifically to them? Were they therefore a protected class? Wallenstein is not neutral on the subject, he himself is in a "mixed" marriage, but the book is still even-handed and useful.

The format of the notes are done so that it is easy to match it with the text. There is no separate bibliography, but the citations in the notes are well done, and Wallenstein has helpfully included material for further reading with regard to certain topics. The indexing seems to be pretty thorough. There are charts and maps showing the status of miscegenation laws at various times.

This has done a great deal for me in clearing up issues relating marriages for transsexuals and homosexuals, etc.

Black, white, other : biracial Americans talk about race and identity by Lisa Funderburg is a very interesting series of interviews with contemporary black/white interracial people. ( )