“Empire’s Children is one of the finest recent examples of history à lafrançaise—its research deep, its arguments rigorous, and its erudition impressive. It is a must-read for anyone interested in how colonialism shaped modern Europe and racial thinking.”

Todd Shepard | Johns Hopkins University

"Empire’s Children is a brilliant and deeply researched exploration of the place of race in the French citizenship experience, focusing on the rights of ’mixed-race’ people in French Indochina and other colonies. Emmanuelle Saada deftly weaves together the perspectives of jurists, colonial officials, journalists and the "mixed-raced" individuals themselves to demonstrate why the French Empire -- and by extension, today’s France -- cannot be analyzed in black and white terms. A nuanced and important account, beautifully translated by Arthur Goldhammer."

Mary Dewhurst Lewis | Harvard University

“In this pathbreaking work of historical legal anthropology, Saada uses a vast array of primary sources to trace the deep racial logic of a new 1928 decree regulating the status of the métis, or person of mixed race, in Indochina. At a moment when much of the historiography of empire is focused on the crude violence of colonial rule, Empire’s Children persuasively argues for the critical role of law in the exercise of power overseas.”

Alice Conklin | Ohio State University