I found this book while reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X. In the book Malcolm refers to Silberman as the only white person who isn't afraid of the truth and isn't a liar. Well, that was enough for me so I came to Amazon and picked up this little diddy. I am amazed by how incredible insightful Mr. Silberman is and I am also deeply disheartened that a book written over 40 years ago could be so spot on for many of todays current race issues. I have always been a fan of the Civil Rights Movement and had thought of it as a great success led by great leaders, of course that is what our history books teach and movies show, but as Silberman points out, 350 years of slavery cannot be without serious repercussions for generations. It's sad that so many of the traits and problems that existed in the negro community pre 1965 still exist today but that is because the real issues never got addressed, the civil rights movement worried about the cosmetic fixes of racism, i.e. sitting in the front of the bus, desegregating lunch counters, drinking from the same water fountains, and although these issues were important the real issues should have been how to rebuild a people who had been literally torn apart of almost 400 years. How do you give pride to a black man who seemingly has nothing to feel proud of? How do you inspire change in apathetic people who have been trained to beg for crumbs and then praise the crumb giver? How do you reconcile hundreds of years of verbal, mental, physical and emotional abuse; by moving to the front of the bus? The issues are real and Mr. Silberman offers a variety of solutions to solving the real race issues. I highly recommend this book to everyone. As a matter of fact, it should be required reading in school. Forget the non sense the government is spoon feeding our children, it's time for the the truth to be unleashed. You may not agree with everything he says, but you will agree with some of it. I am much more informed and have a deeper understanding of race issues because of this book and you will to.