Most commentators look at the issue of immigration from the viewpoint of immediate politics. In doing so, they focus on only a piece of the issue and lose touch with the larger picture. Now Thomas Sowell offers a sweeping historical and global look at a large number of migrations over a long period of time. Migrations and Cultures: -shows the persistence of cultural traits, in particular racial and ethnic groups, and the role these groups' relocations play in redistributing skills, knowledge, and other forms of "human capital." -answers the question: What are the effects of disseminating the patterns of the particular set of skills, attitudes, and lifestyles each ethnic group has carried forth-both for the immigrants and for the host countries, in social as well as economic terms?