J. Harvie Wilkinson III was recently appointed a U.S. District Court Judge. He was formerly Editor of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, taught at the University of Virginia School of Law and served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr.

"A fascinating, eloquent, important study. Perhaps no one is better qualified to deal with its subject than J. Harvie Wilkinson III....A brilliant work, a major contribution to historical study and to jurisprudence."--Journal of Southern History "A first-rate book--eloquent and informative in narration, sane and temperate in judgment. I am astonished that anyone could render so intelligible the uneven course of history from Brown to Bakke, yet without a moment's simplification."--The Washington Star

This book is a historical study of jurisprudence focused on the assessment of the role of the Supreme Court in public school integration in the mid-twentieth century. The manner in which the principal Supreme Court decisions are illuminated by the practical, legal, and political difficulties at each step of the way provides a very well informed perspective that is both interesting and important.