The Sum of Us

What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

By: Heather McGhee

Narrated by: Heather McGhee

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.

WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, The Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ms. magazine, BookRiot, Library Journal

“This is the book I’ve been waiting for.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist

Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a root problem: racism in our politics and policymaking. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?

McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she meets white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams, and their shot at better jobs to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how public goods in this country—from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world’s advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare.

But in unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: the benefits we gain when people come together across race to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own. The Sum of Us is not only a brilliant analysis of how we arrived here but also a heartfelt message, delivered with startling empathy, from a black woman to a multiracial America. It leaves us with a new vision for a future in which we finally realize that life can be more than a zero-sum game.

LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL

©2021 Heather McGhee (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Illuminating and hopeful.... McGhee isn’t a stinging polemicist; she cajoles instead of ridicules. She appeals to concrete self-interest in order to show how our fortunes are tied up with the fortunes of others. ‘We suffer because our society was raised deficient in social solidarity,’ she writes, explaining that this idea is ‘true to my optimistic nature.’ She is compassionate but also clear-eyed, refusing to downplay the horrors of racism.... There is a striking clarity to this book; there is also a depth of kindness in it that all but the most churlish readers will find moving.” (Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times)

“In this critical moment where we have fallen so far apart, The Sum of Us is a book we all need. For close to a decade, the BlackLivesMatter movement has been doing the work to change how racism, and America's willful amnesia surrounding it, devastatingly impacts the lives of Black people in America and around the world. This book provides an important and necessary piece of the equation - not just how racism hurts Black people and people of color, but white people, too. The Sum of Us is a must read for everyone who wants to understand how we got here, but more importantly, where we can go from here - and how we get there, together.” (Alicia Garza, author of The Purpose of Power and co-founder of Black Lives Matter)

"A book for every American." (Elizabeth Gilbert)

valuable information

Ms. McGee presents a thoughtful, well supported argument for how bad racism has been for everyone on multiple levels. She shares scientific studies as well as personal examples of how we've hobbled our economy with racism. I particularly appreciated her portrait of the small town in Maine that came back to life with the determined work of immigrants who were welcomed and supported. Here, with conscious bent toward equality, everyone wins.

Essential reading

This book gave me better understanding of ongoing pernicious effects of racism and innovative interventions!

Eye Opening!

Truly an eye opening and excellent look at racism in this country and the very costly effective it has had and is having on many of our citizens still. This should be required reading in high school and college economics classroom. Also, both houses of Congress should read it instead of wasting time with Green Eggs and Ham.

Well done

Heather McGhee has done an excellent job of articulating the holistic impact of racism.

Excellent source

This book captures truths that are not often discussed, and it does it in a very easy to understand way. Very informative and well written. Enjoyed the read!

Can we truly prosper together in a fallen world?

Chapters 3 and 4 were very powerful. Thank you for doing the research so well.

The book was so enlightening

I found myself nodding my head in agreement with the author throughout the book. The book was well researched. This is a must read. The information is relevant today.

Fantastic.

This book is wonderful and listening to Heather McGhee read it in her own voice is spectacular.

Valuable Read

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee is so written that anyone can understand the cost of racism and how it affects everyone. Ms. McGhee uses stories to help us see the sum zero cost of racism and how all Americans can benefit from anti-racist activities. Her stories made it easy for me to understand such topics as draining the pool, ignoring the canary, living apart, and living under the same ski.

I appreciated the author’s optimistic view that, with minor adjustments, all Americans can benefit from changes to schooling, infrastructure, living wages, and public health access, etc. I liked how she made it easy to understand American economics with all the underlying racist undertones. It left me hopeful that Americans can develop a system that good for The Sum of Us all.

I recommend this book to all Americans who wish for a better life and to “have nice things.”

I listened to the author-narrated audiobook. For me, listening to difficult topics assures that I will retain the information that I might not otherwise have done with reading the book. Whichever your preference, this book is valuable.

Greed and Racism are killing us all

In the effort to reverse the spell of self-destruction, The Sum of Us should be required reading for every year of every curriculum, K thru PhD.