New Releases by Thomas Sowell

Traces the story of nine different ethnic groups in American society, discussing their various reactions to the American experience, cultural and hisotrical backgrounds, patterns of difficulty, and modes of success.

The history of the advancement of blacks in the United States is almost a laboratory study of human achievement. But the story of how millions of people developed from the depths of slavery--acquired work skills, personal discipline, human ideals, and the whole complex of knowledge and values required for achievement in a modern society--is a largely untold story. One small but important part of this advancement has been educational achievement. There are a number of successful black schools in various cities that exemplify this educational excellence. For the purposes of this study, six high schools and two elementary schools were selected. Some of the schools were once outstanding but are no longer, while others are currently academically successful. The research of the schools extended beyond such intangibles as atmosphere and school/community relations, as these could be either observed or reconstructed from documents and from interviews. The schools studied were: Booker T. Washington High School (Atlanta), St. Paul of the Cross (Atlanta), Frederick Douglass High School (Baltimore), McDonough 35 High School (New Orleans), St. Augustine High School (New Orleans), Xavier Prep (New Orleans), P.S. 91 (Brooklyn), and Dunbar High School (Washington, DC). (BZ)