America in Black and White: One Nation, Indivisible (Touchstone)
Stephan Thernstrom
(Author)
Abigail Thernstrom
(Author)
Description
The "American Dilemma, " Gunnar Myrdal called the problem of race in his classic 1944 book. More than half a century later, race remains the issue that dwarfs all others - the problem that doesn't get solved and won't go away. But in the decades since Myrdal wrote, much has changed, say the authors of America in Black and White. Progress - too little acknowledged - has been heartening. Pessimists talk of the "permanence of racism, " and say that things are as bad as ever. In fact, the authors show, the status of blacks has been transformed in recent decades, and there is no going back. Problems remain, of course. But they will not be solved by traditional civil rights strategies, the authors argue. Affirmative action programs, for instance, do nothing to help the black underclass. Racial preferences cannot rescue the high school dropout who is too unskilled for the modern world of work. Racial progress ultimately depends on our common understanding that we are one nation, indivisible - that we sink or swim together, that black poverty impoverishes us all, and that black alienation eats at the nation's soul.
Product Details
Price
$30.95
Publisher
Simon & Schuster
Publish Date
February 02, 1999
Pages
704
Dimensions
6.14 X 9.02 X 1.77 inches | 2.35 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780684844978
BISAC Categories:
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Become an affiliateAbout the Author
Stephan Thernstrom, the Winthrop Professor of History at Harvard University, is the editor of The Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups and the author of several other books.
Reviews
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Chairman, Department of Afro-American Studies, Harvard University This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the state of race relations.
Jim Sleeper The Wall Street Journal May be the most far-ranging, information-rich analysis of our seismic racial shifts....
Roger Lane The Philadelphia Inquirer On their chosen issue [the Thernstroms] have served a high hard one, a statistical missile into the other court. It will take more than rhetoric to answer them.
Linda Chavez The Chicago Tribune [America in Black and White] promises to become the standard reference book on contemporary race relations.
David W. Reinhard The Oregenian A conversation-stopper in the best sense. The guts of this book will cause those on the left and right to stop and think before issuing the grand pronouncement or withering indictment.
Thomas Sowell Forbes A very through history of contemporary race relations and racial policies in the United States....America in Black and White is a penetrating analysis, as well as a superb history. It should be "must" reading for anyone concerned about race relations in America.
Jim Sleeper The Wall Street Journal May be the most far-ranging, information-rich analysis of our seismic racial shifts....
Roger Lane The Philadelphia Inquirer On their chosen issue [the Thernstroms] have served a high hard one, a statistical missile into the other court. It will take more than rhetoric to answer them.
Linda Chavez The Chicago Tribune [America in Black and White] promises to become the standard reference book on contemporary race relations.
David W. Reinhard The Oregenian A conversation-stopper in the best sense. The guts of this book will cause those on the left and right to stop and think before issuing the grand pronouncement or withering indictment.
Thomas Sowell Forbes A very through history of contemporary race relations and racial policies in the United States....America in Black and White is a penetrating analysis, as well as a superb history. It should be "must" reading for anyone concerned about race relations in America.