Book Review Gesture, Race and Culture Gestures are unique forms of nonverbal communication, which have been studied, both out of context and within culture and race . In 1942, Dr. David Efron wrote the book Gesture and Environment, which was a summary of Efron's research into Nazi scientists' claims that "differences in gestures were due solely to racial heredity" (Ekman, 7). He compared groups of Southern Italian immigrants and Eastern Jews living in New York City, using direct observation and recording the outward gestures of this set of people. These observations were then evaluated and studied to determine whether group differences existed between them. Efron went even further, researching whether there were differences between traditional Eastern Jews and “Americanized” Jews of the same background; and between traditional Southerners and “Americanized” Southerners. He even went so far as to include sketches of these groups' gestural patterns and other appropriate illustrations, drawn by Stuyvesant Van Veen, a New York City artist. Efron's research was so unique and diverse that his book was republished in 1972 under the title Gesture, Race and Culture. The first part of David Efron's book includes summaries of the theories of gesticulation that were being explored at that time. These theories provided the foundation on which Efron built his research. Summaries of some of these statements are included in the following paragraphs. The most emphatic theory was written by Hans Gunther, who was one of the most important people in the Third Reich. Gunther stated that humanity “is composed of four distinct 'races' (the Nordic, the Western, the Eastern and the Dinaric), each having... half of the document... last discussion on the 'roots' of gestures that we use on a daily basis. From the text Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction, Knapp and Hall define gestures as “any movement made by the body or a part of it.” Both readings contain excellent information on gestures along with other factors that play a role when you communicate not verbally. Gesture, Race and Culture was a pretty easy read. It had a lot of interesting and valuable information that I could relate to situations I interact with in my life and I am more aware of certain gestures that people make with Efron, that a person's culture and background have an effect on their gestures. I also agree that if a person moves and moves, over time, their gestures will also change slightly. A person's environment has a great influence on how they communicate and gesture nonverbally.