Everything but the Burden

This collection, subtitled “What White People Are Taking from Black Culture,” transcends the simplistic “Elvis stole black music” statement to examine the relationship of African-American culture to a mainstream culture dominated by white-owned media and white consumers. Though academic, the essays are readable and insightful. Some, such as “Eminem: The New White Negro” by Carl Hancock Rux, engage Norman Mailer’s “The White Negro.” “Steely Dan: Understood as the Redemption of the White Negro” falls into this category and is an intriguing and enlightening look at the blues-pop group. Also interesting is “The Beautiful Ones,” Michaela Angela Davis’ examination of whites co-opting black concepts of beauty that traces Madonna’s style through Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich to Josephine Baker.