Book excerpt: Considered the father of multicultural education in the US and known throughout the world as one of the field’s most important founder, theorist and researcher, James A. Banks has collected here twenty-one of his most important and best works from across the span of his career. Drawing out the major themes that have shaped the field of multicultural education as well as outlining the development of Banks’ own career, these articles, chapters and papers focus on eight key issues: black studies and the teaching of history research and research issues teaching ethnic studies teaching social studies for decision-making and citizen action multiethnic education and school reform multicultural education and knowledge construction the global dimensions of multicultural education democracy, diversity and citizenship education. The last part of the book consists of a selected bibliography of all Banks’ publications over his forty-year career, as a source of further reading on each of these pivotal ideas.