Benjamin, a Stanford educated NPR journalist spent three months living in three communities identified as whitopia, those places where whites make up a larger segment of the population then seen in the rest of the nation. The author did not disclose the exact nature of the book he was writing while getting a feel for life in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, St. George, Utah and Forsyth County, Georgia. Meant to be an expose’ on the exclusive nature of predominately white communities as they search for the quieter, safer life reminiscent of the 50’s, what emerges is a more one-dimensional work then might be expected.
Benjamin ignores similar predominantly black, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, Jewish or other strongly ethnic communities and what makes them tick in favor of wagging a finger at whitopia. In all fairness, the author does avoid most racial stereotypes but including other ethnic neighborhoods would have presented a clearer picture of the forces at work in self-segregated communities, especially as the point of this book is to argue for more diversity.
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