Father of racist ideology: The social and political thought of Count Gobineau

Dr. Biddiss here gives us the first general study in English of the French aristocrat Count Gobineau, the 'Father of Racism'. His notorious 'Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races' surpasses in scope and sinister grandeur even that other racist classic, 'Mein Kampf'. Dr. Biddiss, who has already edited a volume of Gobenau's political writings, has drawn upon a wide range of source to establish the relationship between Gobineau's racist theories and his other social and political concerns. The first part of the book deals with Gobineau's thinking in the period before the formulation of his racist creed around 1850, when the 'Essay' was begun. The second section discusses that work, its place in the development of Gobineau's thought, and its chief implications for social and political theory. In the final part the author examines the later evolution of Gobineau's beliefs.