Dreisinger (English, criminal justice, City U. of New York) describes instances in which whites perceive themselves, or are perceived by others, as losing their whiteness and acquiring blackness. Spanning centuries and contexts from slavery to civil rights, jazz to rock to hip-hop, she says, they form a sometimes radically transgressive chapter of American culture, and illuminate deep-seeded conceptions of blackness and whiteness. Her final chapter asks whether passing is passé in a post-race world. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)