Hero Press nets World Cup winner Thuram's White Thinking

Hero Press has netted White Thinking by activist and French World Cup-winning footballer Lilian Thuram.

Christian Müller, non-fiction editor at The Legend Times Group imprint, acquired world English rights for the book, translated by David Murphy, from Éditions Philippe Rey via Marie Lannurien and Sophie Langlais of the Books and More Agency. It will be published in October 2021.

Thuram won the World Cup and European Championship in 1998 and 2000 respectively, also picking up numerous trophies while playing for prestigious European clubs such as AS Monaco, Parma, Juventus and Barcelona. Since ending his playing career, he has devoted himself to the cause of antiracism, setting up the Lilian Thuram Foundation. He has received honorary degrees from the University of Stirling and Stockholm University for his commitment to tackling racism through education.

His book's synopsis explains: “White Thinking, which draws on extensive historical research as well as personal experience, examines how white bias developed over centuries in the West and created a way of thinking that excluded non-whites and perpetuated racial inequality. Thuram looks at the causes and the detrimental effects of this blind spot on both non-whites and whites today. The book’s stated aim is to raise awareness and find inclusive solutions to the problem, drawing parallels with the progress made in the environmental movement and the struggle for women’s rights.”

Published in France in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, the book has met with critical acclaim, with Le Monde branding it “well-researched and extremely instructive”.

Müller commented: “Lilian Thuram’s eloquent and erudite book has definitely made me, a white man who grew up in France, face truths that our schools and media have inadequately addressed. I believe that the facts it unflinchingly exposes, and its urgent yet hopeful message, will resonate with English-speaking readers.”