Given the Republican Party's recent reaction to the Trent Lott affair, this book is an excellent retelling of the rise of the GOP in the South and its sordid dabbling in racial politics. Earl and Merle Black are two of the most thoughtful and fair observers of Southern politics, and this is some of their best work yet. Occasionally dry and overly laden with charts, the book can drag in places.

This book provides readers a wonderful example of just what political scientists are SUPPOSED to be doing. Certainly, we write for one another, but in terms of books; one must be mindful of the amateur who might read your work. The Black brothers make a wonderful team and deserve much credit for reexamining Kevin Phillips' work in 1968 "The Emerging Republican Majority" however; this reader notes there was a conspicuous absence of Phillips' name in the text. To not mention him A SINGLE time in those 400 plus pages represents a obvious omission which should be brought to their attention.
In any event; the charts and graphs were well presented and the trends appearing were nicely explained. I would comment however that the Blacks might have missed the boat on some important observations that could have been made about Florida and Texas by keeping the race question largely contained to the "black/white" paradigm. Certainly the "shell game" played by the Southern Democrats and their eventual flip to the Republican Party can be largely explained by the 1960s Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts but the demographics have definitely changed in the South and contemporary discussions of race and its impact on partisan politics must do more than allude to hispanics or asians. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a book to explore the trending of the "Solid South" toward the Republican Party this one will definitely 'draw the picture.' I thoroughly enjoyed it and even with the few shortcomings noticed by this political scientist (who wishes SHE could have written this book) their presentation of the data is "on the money!"
I would and DO highly recommend this book to my students and to those curious about the "whos, whens, whys, and hows" of the southern dealignent.
Great Job Blacks.... you have done us proud again!

I finished this book just in time for Trent Lott's abdication of the Senate majority leadership. The Blacks provided the appropriate context to understand Lott's unfortunate comments about Strom Thurmond. Both Lott and Thurmond are central characters in the book, as are Lyndon Johnson, Barry Goldwater, Phil Gramm, Lee Atwater, Newt Gingrich, and the towering figure of Ronald Reagan who deservedly graces the book's cover.

The Blacks are adept interpreters of statistical minutiae. Social science geeks will enjoy the excellent presentation of charts and graphs detailing voting patterns of the vastly different groups who make up the south: whites, blacks, moderates, the suburban affluent, and the religious right.

The book nevertheless takes a wide historical view of southern Republicans. It also happens to be exciting and well written... thus setting it apart from most academic tomes. Not merely the story of Republican ascendancy, it also tells the story of the fracturing of the New Deal consensus by leftist democrats.

"When John F. Kennedy became president in January 1961, the Senate juggernaut of southern Democrats was intact." It was a vast coalition that unified the former Confederate states. "Republican!" was still a pejorative term, which could be used to great effect as a defiant cussword. But this was not to last. 'Unreconstructed' Dixiecrats like Ol' Strom found themselves increasingly isolated from the progressive far-left that followed in the wake of FDR.

Whereas FDR combined liberal spending with a conservative social platform, the 1960s New Left felt entitled to have it both ways. When Thurmond switched to the GOP in 1964, he was merely the first in a massive wave of conservative Southerners. The party of Dixie had been taken over by a new national leadership unwilling to compromise with southern whites. Republicans like Goldwater, Nixon, and especially Reagan were increasingly willing to extend their hands to potential voters alienated by the Democrats' embrace of affirmative action, secularism, welfare, and anti-war ideologies.

Race, of course, was a key issue. Lyndon Johnson, if nothing else his party's greatest political calculator, predicted this. The Civil Rights bills of the 1960s coming close on the heels of the Brown v. Board of Education spelled the end of his brand of centrist Democrats. "This will finish the Democratic party in the South for at least a generation," he told an advisor. But he also acknowledged the importance of passing the legislation. He signed the Civil Rights bills with great public aplomb but anxiously nursed secret misgivings.

As it turned out, LBJ's fear of a Republican takeover was not altogether accurate. The Democrats have by no means disappeared from the scene, argue the Blacks. Nor is there any reason to suppose that the next generation of Southerners will be more Republican than this last. Contests for southern votes are simply more hotly contested. "In its unmitigated ferocity contemporary congressional partisanship reflects the new reality that the results of national elections are no longer foregone Democratic victories or assured Republican triumphs."

Abidingly neutral, the Blacks provide excellent advice to candidates of both parties on their best winning strategies. Democrats should work tirelessly to get out the black vote, but they should hold fast to moderate position on all non-racial issues. That means taking stances that are unpopular with northern democrats, such as being tough on crime, hawkish on national defense, taking moderate positions on gun control, and remaining visibly reverent to traditional religious institutions. Conservatives need to unite two very different kinds of white voters: the suburban affluent and less affluent religious conservatives. Despite their meeting under the Republican umbrella, these two sets of voters tend to display opposite sets of civic values. The Blacks comb through massive survey data to get at the core issues of the parties' respective constituencies. The Blacks have a unique vision. Their book is untypical of academic scholarship. It is a boon to anyone who wishes to understand politics in a wide context.

Hutchinson's book is one in a million. As a concerned African-American trying to learn how to make it our society, the book is a an eye-opener and a reinforcement of some of the same values I hold dear. In some of the chapters of "Crisis in Black and Black", Hutchinson brings to the reader's attention issues that most of us have proabably never thought of before (if we honestly look at ourselves they are true, whether we wish to admit them or not). There are more of us who are "conservative" and if we look at the admired "radicals" of the 1960s and previous ages, we see that what they have said is exactly what the "sell outs" have said. I would have given the book five stars, but there was one chapter in his book that I strongly disagreed with, and it had to do with Black gays. (Forgive me, Mr. Hutchinson, I guess my "fundamentalist Christian" views just won't allow me to buy what you wrote) Other than that, it is an eye-opener worth reading.

This is the type of book that all black people should "Buy" if they have any shred of a social conscience in thier bones.

Oscar Micheaux was born in 1884 and from childhood seemed to be driven to be different. Throughout his life he wore many professional hats; he was a successful farmer and author. But perhaps his most well known accomplishments were as a filmmaker. There is a fair amount of misinformation about Micheaux which this book clarifies and corrects. For example, he was not the first Black filmmaker; however, he was one of the most prolific Black filmmakers of his time with an impressive number of silent films and quite a few sound films. He was able to accomplish this in spite of a national recession and eventual depression, harsh and uncooperative censor boards, limited venues in which he as a Black filmmaker could show his films, financial hardship, and harsh criticism. Still Micheaux's innovative promotion skills, coupled with his tireless efforts helped him survive and continue producing films.

The most fascinating aspect of this book was the fact that many of the issues being faced by Micheaux and other filmmakers during his time are quite similar to those of filmmakers today. Debates about how it is the responsibility of African American filmmakers to produce quality work depicting African Americans only in their most positive light were perhaps more heated in the 1920's than they are today. This heated debate was a particular issue to Micheaux because much of his work included controversial themes and not so positive images of African Americans. While the masses of African Americans seemed to enjoy and support his work and the themes he discussed, the critics and intellectuals of his day often took issue with it.

This book paints a historical overview of the times in which Micheaux lived as well as broad overview of his life and accomplishments. For the most part, this book was an easy read packed with lots of information, but there were times when some of the technical jargon was difficult for a person who has not studied film to understand. Still I highly recommend this book for anyone that would like to learn more about a pioneer in Black film.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Decades before film directors Spike Lee, John Singleton or even Gordon Parks showed audiences that blacks can be more than just cut-out characters and racial punch lines, visionary film director Oscar Micheaux had made movies featuring African-American cowboys, adventurers, detectives and millionaires --- more than 70 years ago.

"The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux" became the subject of late author Earl James Young's graduate thesis because he was an admirer of Micheaux's pioneer spirit. Micheaux was the first filmmaker to offer his audience a range and diversity of African-Americans in film. Micheaux became a controversial figure raising the ire of blacks as well as whites for filming what he wanted, not what others felt he should.

Micheaux fought an uphill battle to get his films shown. White distributors would not market films by blacks, so Micheaux was only allowed to show his films at African-American theaters. In addition, Hollywood jumped on the African-American band wagon and created African-American films superior in quality to Micheaux's and other Indy filmmakers. Micheaux stayed with it but struggled until his death in 1951.

Young dedicated his research to Micheaux life, because he understood the pain of having a gift, but lacking the opportunity to give one's all to a career. However, Young died in 1993 of a brain tumor before publishing his thesis into a book.

With the permission of Young's family, Dr. Beverly J. Robinson has edited Young's thesis into a compelling and essential book for up and coming filmmakers and movie buffs about Micheaux's 40 plus films which made him hero to some and a victim to others. "The Life and Work of Oscar Micheaux" includes a complete filmography of Micheaux's films and bios of the actors who appeared in Micheaux's films --- some such as William Fountaine and Evelyn Preer who went onto star in Hollywood productions.

James Earl Hardy, you go boy!!! I really loved B-BOY BLUES. It deserves a 12+!! At times, it was absolutely hilarious and at other times, it heartbreaking and sad. I read the book in a day and a half! Although I'm neither male or gay, I found myself relating to Mitchell (a.k.a. Little Bit) and Rahiem (a.k.a. Pooquie). My first boyfriend reminded me so much of Pooquie because he always had a "hard" exterior around friends but showed me the real person that he was inside. I also really loved this book because I found myself forgetting that the characters were two men. In reality they were two people going through the same ups and downs, good times and bad times as anyone else in a relationship. It was a true love story that had me captivated from the time I picked the book up until I finished it. I would recommend this book to anyone to read. It was "ALL JOOD!!!" I can't wait to read all of James Earl Hardy's other books!! I know they'll be "ALL JOOD" too!!!!!!

This book was DA BOMB! It explored the world of homosexuality in the African-American community from the middle class buppie to the homeboy.

I truly enjoyed Raheim because he was so down to earth. It was like me reading about one of my homeboys from around the way and Mitch because I felt like I was reading about one of the guys from work.

I also like the author's style of writing - the slang (but I truly HATED the word JOOD), and the places in JERSEY & NEW YORK that were familiar to me. It made me want to identify with the characters more. All of them were so realistic, it seemed like I knew each of them personally or someone like them.

I also enjoyed the sex scenes. Having never read or seen any videos on gays. I was really interested in how they had sex - meaning who's banging whom. I must admit it was very detailed and I'm not embarassed to say a turn-on!

The one thing I didn't understand is why would Raheim pose in a gay magazine and he hasn't "come out of the closet?"

My sister gave me the book as a Xmas present last year. I've read it 5 times, and everytime it gets "jooder." Raheim reminds me of me (I'm a bald ebony brutha, got a son, and work as a mailman), and my shorty is a compact cutie just like Mitchell. We been together three years and our lives are just like the characters -- dealing with class issues, family, friends, death, violence, falling in love, and having some damn jood sex (ain't it funny how heteros can have all the sex they want in books and no one complains, but as soon as two bruthaz get their groove on, folks get uptight?). It's like JEH has been spyin' on us! The story is DA REAL THANG. The only fantasy, myth, and stereotype has been created by folks who don't know how to read a book in context and make ridiculous comments about an experience they know nothing about. Don't diss the author because u can't hang, aight? JEH, don't u worry: the real bruthaz who know what time it is got yo' back! Thanks for givin' us somethin' to call our own. U DA MAN!!!

According to the Uniform Crime Reports (FBI) blacks, who make up roughly 13 % of the U.S. population, commit some 42 per cent of all violent crimes, including 59% of robberies; 42% of the rapes, and 54% of murders.Black males aged 14 to 24 constitute only 1% of the country's population but commit at least 30% of its murders each year.
Of all black homicide victims, 94% are slain by other blacks. Of the 1.3 million violent crimes committed each year against black about 81% are perpetrated by fellow blacks.
IN contrast, white criminals target blacks in only 3% of their attacks.
The good news: since 1981 black families with two college-educated working adults have earned more than similar white famlies in every age group and in every region of the United States.Black full-time workers today earn slightly more than white workers of the same age, sex, and I.Q.
I would suggest the authors look to the HIP-HIP culture which glamorizes pimps, violence, drug-use and the objectificatoin of women for one major source of the problem. Perhaps the authors should interview Puff Daddy and see if he feels any guilt for providing a criminal roll model for black youth.

A great book. I agree with the reviewer Bonita Davis in that Dr. Hutchinson does not always provide data to back up his assertions. However, I disagree with her stance against the book for not suggesting ways to "combat the assault". This book is about exposing misinformation, not taking action against the lies and stereotypes. I enjoyed Dr. Hutchinson's take on what the media does to black males, as well as what black women do! I thought that he could have done something more substantive with that chapter. I also thought the "What's Love Got to do with it" chapter was unfinished. The point of that chapter was nebulous at best.

The rest of the book is great, and overshadows the less-than-great aspects. I particularly enjoy the "voice" of this book - it was thoughtful, but a little angry at the powers and principalities that routinely assassinate black males. There are some things that we need to be angry about so that we are motivated to take the next step. What is the next step? If we knew that, there would be no reason for this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! I really liked the perspective that Mr. Hutchinson gave and all of the examples that were used!! This book is definitely a page turner! It is also an enlightening book to the misinformed and uninformed brothers out there that are just living life today without a care in the world. It has decent size print and is easy to read.

I've read all of Emerson's books, and this one just wasn't quite as great as the rest of them. It's hard to find fault with this writer since his protagonist is such a likeable character, living and working in my favorite city, but this was just kind of a downer for me. Eagerly awaiting Earl's next effort. Where in the damp Northwest will Thomas have his next (mis)adventure? I'd like to write Mr. Emerson personally, but don't know how. Please keep us up to date on coming books.

PI Thomas Black, an ex-Seattle cop, is asked by his old partner, Luther, for help finding Luther's daughter. The daughter had been driving a car later found turned over in a ditch with a dead body in the back seat. Did she kill him? Is someone trying to kill her? Is she already dead? This was an exciting and very well-written mystery. The tunnel scene at the end had me so riveted I missed my bus stop. Now that's something! Highly recommended!

This was the first of the Thomas Black mysteries that I have read and I am hooked. Emerson keeps the action going in each chapter and the ending was unpredictable. The charcaters were well established and so was the atomsphere around the city.

This book was recommended by my Dean, so of course I had to read it. The issues raised in this book are very thought provoking. What does it mean to be Black in America? Who is Black? Does the media influence or reflect the views of society? I enjoyed this book although the writing was at time sensationalized. Most of the information comes from newspaper archives which the writers then interpret, so we never really hear from Rhinelander or Alice in their own words. It was interesting that people in the North felt they were less racist than the South, yet they continued to provide coverage of the case along the same racial lines. Goes to show, same racism, new face. Overall, this book wasn't bad.

Alice Jones and Leonard Kip Rhinelander meet and fall in love. Alice comes from a modest family originally from England and Leonard comes from a wealthy New York family. After a quiet three-year courtship, Alice, age 23 and Leonard, age 22 finally marry.

It looks like this youthful couple has a promising life together ahead of them. That should be the end of their seemingly innocent love story. The couple lives happily ever after. Right? Wrong.

A few days after the wedding, it is discovered that Alice is from a mixed race background. Her mother is white and father of West Indian descent.

Upon the revelation of this news, Leonard quickly files for an annulment. He claims that he was unaware of his wife's racial background (a daughter of a black man) and that she tricked him into marrying her. Conversely, Alice maintains that her husband knew everything about her and she did not defraud her.

The year is 1924. What happens next is a fascinating and sensational trial. Known as the "Rhinelander case," it brings up several attention-grabbing issues that include how race is viewed in the U.S., especially at that time period - the 1920s.

I would have liked to read a little more about the Alice and Leonard. However, I understand that the book is not a biography on the couple but instead focuses on the trial. In the authors' notes, the reader is told that the families did not grant interviews and expressed no interest in the book. I also found the numerous footnotes within the book a little distracting. It sometimes felt as if I was reading a dissertation instead of a book.

Despite these minor complaints, the subject of "Love on Trial" is of interest. Authors, Lewis and Aridzzone have done an excellent job retracing the events of the case and reconstructing what occurred in the courtroom - this includes the interaction between the two strong-headed opposing lawyers, the examination of Leonard and a point where Alice has to partially disrobe for the jury. Photos are interspersed among the chapters, showing the litigants, crowded courtroom, judge and lawyers to envision the story better.

"Love on Trial" is well researched and detailed with the happenings in the case - from the trial, appellate and New York Supreme Court findings. It also includes the newspaper coverage and public reactions during and after the court case.

If you enjoy reading about trials, watching T.V. programs on court cases or lawyers shows, this is the book for you.

Fafa Demasio

still has a problem with racial/ethnic/class mixing and multiracial/multiethnic people. This book tells all about the courtship and marriage of Kip Rhinelander and Alice Jones, the media scruntiny, Kip's father's disapproval of the match, the publicized trial, the humiliation of Alice Rhinelander in the courtroom(much like the humiliation of Anita Hill by the Senate Judiciary Committee back in 1991), and the troubling questions of race/ethnicity/class in the 1920s.

Even today, "black"/"white" relationships still arouse a great deal of controversy. Look at the O.J. Simpson case. That case has divided the nation into two hostile camps. Assorted incidents directed toward multiracial couples shows that we have a long way to go. Whites oppose such relationships because it weakens white privilege, while Blacks condemned them in the name of Black racial solidarity and unity.

Please buy this book now. If not, then go to your local library and borrow it. This is a very fascinating book that is very riveting in its telling of the long-neglected chapter of American history.

Another good addition to the Thomas Black series. A light, entertaining book - and series - which keeps you laughing, thinking and turning the pages to the final chapter. A fun read.

"Deviant Behavior" is the fifth Thomas Black novel by Earl Emerson. Seventeen-year-old Todd Steeb has run away from home, and his parents hire Black to investigate. Thomas and Todd's brother, Buzz, travel to Seattle's Chinatown and the old Milwaukee hotel in search of Todd, whom Buzz thinks is investigating the suicide of their uncle Jan. The plot is somewhat convoluted. It involves murder, suicide, missing money, and the author of a cult classic novel. All this said, "Deviant Behavior" was entertaining and is another fine addition to the Thomas Black series.

"Deviant Behavior" was the first novel in the Thomas Black P.I. series that I have read. I am a huge P.I. fiction fan, and on the basis of this novel I would place Earl W. Emmerson's hero only a notch or so below masters like Raymond Chandler, Lawrence Block and Loren Estleman. Black is not as quick with a metaphor as the best P.I.s, nor is he as world weary or cynical. And Emmerson leaves a lot of the details of his story a little fuzzy around the edges. But the central mystery in "Deviant Behavior" held my interest and it raises some interesting points about the human capacity for guilt and mistrust. The ending may stretch credibility a bit, but overall the novel is a good one for P.I. fiction fans. I guess the best recommendation I can give is that I do plan to spend some more time with Mr. Black in the future.

Taboo by Jon Entine did not approach it's controversial topic of black athletic superiority in a new or significant way. Entine presents the information largely in the manner in which it is discussed in American society: by anecdotes. And Entine can't even present his point of view without bad grammar and typos.

I was hoping for some fresh research on the topic of physiology regarding athletic performance. Instead what I got was the inference that almost all of the world class distance runners are from East Africa so they must be genetically superior. I already knew this. Tell me something I don't know. I guess this may just have been Entine's non-threatening approach to a threatening topic.

Lying underneath the surface of inate black athletic superiority is the racist implication that athletic prowess is inversely proportional to intelligence. Since we use common sense perception to determine that blacks are the superior athletes, we can also use common sense perception to slay the myth of the dumb jock. One look at the ranks of the top athletes in America will dispel it. Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Latrell Sprewell, Allen Iverson, Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, Donovan Bailey, Carl Lewis, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds (I could continue for many more) all have one thing in common: they are all highly intelligent men who could succeed at most intellectual endeavors outside of the sports world. I think, while blacks do have an inate athletic superiority, it takes a lot of determination, drive, and *BRAIN POWER* to approach the level that these athletes I have just mentioned have attained. It is the rare athlete who can succeed without the corresponding intellectual ability. We should all remember that, until blacks came to dominate athletics, sports were considered the provence of the intellectually gifted. The dumbing down of the athlete was just a way for a racist population to downplay the success of black athletes. The dumb jock syndrome was no more true of Jesse Owens or Joe Louis than it is of any of the men I previously mentioned.

One thing that Entine does do with his book that I liked was exploding the myth of the superior white female athlete. Many people pointed to East European females as proof that it was environment, not genetics, that made Africans better athletes than Europeans or Asians. With the fall of Communism in East Europe we are now seeing just why these 'women' dominated (barely) women's athletics for a 20 year period. It was largely due to drugs. Communist governments had instituted official state policies that doped up their athletes in the hopes of producing something which an increasingly dissatisfied populace could rally around. This worked better on the female athletes because women have less testosterone than men. Injecting the same amount of testosterone into a man and a woman will have a greater impact on the woman and her performance as opposed to his. That these governments had these programs is no longer in doubt. We have the papers which document them in full. What is further evidence that East European success was due mainly to drugs is the abysmal performance of the countries athletes since the fall of Communism. Runners who had all the benefits of a Communist sports machine no longer run with the best African runners now that they aren't receiving their doses of steroid injections.

The main aspect of Entine's book where I thought he came up way short on was the 'why' we should be interested in this subject. I have always been a believer in science for science's sake. Anything and everything is worth exploring to me. Entine gives a little mention of this in the final chapter. He says this discussion determines what kind of society we are. Are we the kind that lets uncomfortable topics go unstudied for fear of what we might find? Or are we the type of society that seeks knowledge out in all of its forms regardless of the outcome? There are positives and negatives to each one. I for one hope that we are the latter type, the kind that seeks to progress in our understanding and knowledge of even unpleasant topics because one never knows what pearls one may find while rummaging through the muck.

The raging debate about the average intelligence between races has always been equated with male athletic ability as well, but it has been kept off the table for discussion as to the genetic component of Black dominance in sports. This book finally brings that chapter to a close, and we can begin to look at athleticism with the same tools and analytical perception that we have devoted to intelligence. Of course, sports are just that, and nations and economies do not fall and rise based on the athletic ability of their athletes, but on the creativity and intelligence of their people. So it is only fitting that intelligence would be studied far longer and with greater interest than sports. This easy to read book does not attempt to look at every form of athletic ability. It concentrates on two primary adaptations that are important in many sports: quick bursts of speed and long distance endurance. In fact, a good portion of the book looks at the asymmetry of Black abilities: sprinting and long distance running. What is amazing is that sprinters come from West Africa; but the long distance marathon runners are virtually all from the same ethnic group in Kenya--the Kalenjin. That is, the world male marathon runners come from virtually the same ethnic group.

After explaining how the Kalenjin finds running long distances so innately easy, without even training hard, Entine goes into explaining the political motivations of those scholars who try to deny any genetic differences between races. Anyone familiar with this lengthy debate will recognize the same stale Marxist advocates' Stephan J. Gould and Richard Lewontin, et al. The claim is made that humans cannot and do not genetically differ significantly enough to cause average differences between races of people on other than superficial traits--like skin color and hair. But is that true? The book goes into a well-balanced review of what is known about our evolutionary past, including explaining how there has been ample time and circumstances for population groups or races to diverge in genetic frequencies, making genetic differences real and substantial. Even former President Clinton jumped on the Marxist bandwagon, declaring that everyone is 99% genetically the same. Unfortunately, that also makes us genetically closer to chimpanzees than chimpanzees are to orangutans. Should we then extend voting rights to chimpanzees? No doubt they would all be Democrats as they would all get transfer payments from humans.

Taboo discusses the numerous aspects of racial differences. Unlike the brain, muscles can be inspected and probed to find out how Blacks are different. Far more options are available to see directly the genetic differences that are acting to make Blacks better athletes--tools that are not available to those studying the differences in cognitive abilities. Looking for example at fast-twitch versus slow-twitch muscles, vascular density around muscles, different chemical reactions and energy conversion cell densities, these and many more differences must be in fact genetic. No amount of training, nutrition, or other supposed environmental cause could account for the genetic differences found. So unlike intelligence, these non-cognitive anatomical differences are visible, measurable, and they are significant. In every area of athletics except intelligence, Blacks trounce everyone else. Unfortunately, It is obvious that the author did not want to wade into the intelligence debate too deeply. However, it would have been enlightening to contrast those sports and the team positions that do require cognitive ability over pure athleticism.

Indeed, Taboo takes a look at the East German Communist athletic machine prior to the collapse of Communism. The East Germans had little to show for their utopian state, so they embraced an all-out effort to replace economic success with Olympic success. All children, at an early age, were tested and observed to find the very best specimens for athletic competition. On top of giving these athletes every available opportunity and resources, they also gave them every available strength enhancing drug, and as much as the athlete could endure, short of killing them. What was the result of this enormous environmental enhancement, both naturally and chemically artificial? Blacks who had no special training, opportunities, or drugs were still able to beat the East German athletic machine. Would this dispel the environmental cause of racial differences in abilities? Nope. Science breaks down at this point, just like it has with differences in intelligence, and dogma and ideology take over. So it seems unlikely that this book will have any impact on the Marxist/egalitarian left who deny racial differences. But it does provide another important piece to the genetic puzzle.

"Taboo" examines the question that has remained in the back of my mind since my basketball playing days, "Why is the representation of black athletes so completely out of proportion to their population?" Is it really true that, "White men can't jump?" After a brief introduction, including the story of the PC storm that engulfed British physician (and the first four minute miler) Roger Bannister for suggesting that genetics was part of the answer, the book explains the need for research into this topic and scientifically approaches answers to this question by examining biological, social, and historical factors.

This question is so taboo because honest discussion of race and human differences remains such a touchy issue. Especially in the context of sport, human competition, the differences among humans are exemplified. "Taboo" provided insight and allowed me to explore this topic in a non-polemical, even-handed way. Because of a history of prejudice, a white person noticing that black people are better at sports can be seen as judging black people as more primitive or succumbing to "dumb jock" theory. This is not always the case, and this book objectively examines the possibilities.

As Entine makes clear, examining this issue should held eliminate racism, since scientific data demonstrates that the difference among all human beings is relatively small and that skin color is just one of millions of genetic mutations among the human population. "Taboo" examines evolution theories, the most common of which is the Eve theory that states that all human beings share common ancestry.

The depth in which this topic had been studied blows me away. Slowly revealed through pages of evidence, it appears that the cause/effect relationship of ethnicity and athletic capability cannot be explained in terms of black and white, but varying shades of gray. Entine does not claim that blacks are "superior" or "inferior" in any way, just that evolution has left a footprint on different populations. All the training in the world will not turn an Eskimo into an NBA center or a Kenyan into a sprinter.

I was particularly taken by one chapter on how blacks have come to dominate basketball, a sport that Jews dominated in the 1930s. I remember a few years ago when I watched a basketball documentary on TV. I was surprised to discover that my favorite team, the New York Knickerbockers, was at one time composed of Jewish white men. Today it is the complete converse. "Taboo" tells the story of the Philadelphia "Hebrews," the predecessor of the Philadelphia Warriors/76ers. Entine explains the cause to this social revolution and also discusses how Jews of that era were thought to be genetically "trickier," "manipulative," and "deceptive." He uses this comparison to show the danger of facile racial and ethnic stereotypes and to underscore the complex interaction of cultural and genetic factors.

As Entine persuasively shows, social and environmental factors along don't seem to be enough to explain black dominance of so many sports or white dominance of "strength" events such as weightlifting, shot-put, hammer throw etc. Different populations have different physiques and physiological characteristics.

The coverage of black domination in running, especially sprinting, examines the essence of this whole topic. Running is competition in its purest form, without equipment or guidelines. It is simply who can reach the finish line first, and it is usually runners of West African ancestry.

East Africans such as Kenyans, who dominate distance running, have a different genetic history then athletes of West African ancestry (including African Americans), and have quite distinct ectomorphic physiques and physiological characteristics. How could it be that in a radius of sixty miles around Eldoret, Kenya in the Nandi Hills, ninety percent of the top Kenyan world-class athletes (and 40 percent of the world's top distance runners) are produced? Without the training books, special diets, let alone even running shoes, Kenyan runners are still top notch.

As Entine points out time and again, race based on skin color is biologically meaningless but there are some patterned biological differences between populations and sub-populations (he offers great examples of "racial" and "ethnic" differences in disease proclivities, such as the fact that European Jews are more susceptible to Tay-Sachs, northern European whites get MS and cystic fibrosis, and blacks are more likely to get colo-rectal cancer, all the result of gene patterning.

By reading the book I expected to obtain answers, though it was soon clear that Entine was making the case that there was no clear-cut explanation to the success of black athletes. That's what I liked about the book. It didn't beat me over the head with its perspective, although not one could read this book and reamin convinced of the myth that genetics plays no role. The book made me even more curious about this controversial topic that Entine was brave enough to leap into.

"Taboo" takes pains to make clear that athletic skill differences are not a black and white issue. I LOVED this book.

After more than 30 years the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and possible conspiracy still weigh heavily on our collective national consciousness. Enter journalist Gerald Posner and his book, Killing the Dream: James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. published by Random House. Posner, author of the controversial best seller Case Closed which found Lee Harvey Oswald to be the lone assassin of JFK, sets out to close the book on the King case as well. Readers familiar with Case Closed will recognize the layout, style, and conclusions in Posner's new book, although he does leave the door to conspiracy open this time around. Another similarity is Posner's ability to gain access to information. In Case Closed, he was able to study of the files of Edward Wagmann, an attorney for Clay Shaw. This time around, Posner and his wife were the first researchers to examine the archives of George McMillan, who gained the trust of the Ray family during research for his book, The Making of an Assassin. ...

So does the book "close the case" on the assassination of Martin Luther King? As in Case Closed, conspiracy theorists should find plenty of material in the book that can be disputed. One such issue is Ray's purchase of expensive camera equipment, which Posner contends that he planned to use in a porn venture. His source for the porn statement is Ray's brother, Jerry, who is hardly a Gibraltar of truth.

Aside from a few issues that may never be resolved, Posner has done an admirable job of showing motive, means, and opportunity for James Earl Ray to kill Dr. King. He has demonstrated again his ability to find new information and gain access to sources that others can not. This book will probably not do much to help Posner vacate the title of "The man conspiracy buffs love to hate". It will, if readers keep an open mind, answer the question, "Who killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?"

You might wonder if the author of "Case Closed" deemed it merely obligatory to debunk yet another batch of conspiracy theories, this time surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Not so. Some of the same conspiratorial characters who cascaded in and out of the murky John F. Kennedy tale have transitioned into the Martin Luther King tragedy without so much as a blink of an eye. Gerald Posner takes them on once again with no less fervor and no less a flair for exhaustive research than he did in "Case Closed," the fruits of which are compellingly told to a fact-hungry America. If you're tired of tabloidisms about the Monica Lewinsky/Ken Starr mess, jump right into Gerald Posner's highly readable "Killing the Dream." I loved it. The footnotes themselves are a richly textured book within a book, sprinkles of wisdom delivered with the sledgehammer of truth. In "Killing the Dream" we find that James Earl Ray is not only a petty criminal, he's a jerk (parks his pale yellow Mustang sideways taking up two spaces so as not to expose his precious getaway car to bumps and bruises; a liar ("He was the most reluctant, sarcastic, overbearing liar I ever saw," said Alton police chief Harold Riggins in 1954); and a bigot. And -- you will meet the real Raul in Posner's disturbing account of intrusion on an innocent by sarcastic, overbearing conspiracy buffs. This exceptional book has put the Martin Luther King assassination in proper perspective, elevating it at the same time to its rightful place in history.

I haven't ever given a lot of thought to James Earl Ray as Martin Luther King's lone assassin, despite the press that has been given to it over the past few months. I assumed, like many others, that the truth about his death was locked up in some government vault somewhere. Only in the future, would we know the truth.

I saw Mr. Posner on one of the early morning talk shows, and found him to be one of the most articulate and straightforward guests I had seen in a while, who offered some thought provoking views on the current conspiracy theories relating to King's death. I was so intrigued by this short interview that I purchased the book. I was not disappointed. I soon learned that the truth about the King Assassination was complex, but available to those who had an open mind.

Posner's clear, efficient writing style, and straight ahead delivery of the facts, as he has discovered them, were facinating. What I appreciated most about his work was the balanced and objective manner in which the facts in this case were presented. In an era when conspiracy theories abound, it is refreshing to read something where rational thought, common sense and exemplary research are found on every page.

I think Posner has done our country a valuable service by setting the record straight on such an important social issue.

Not only has this book contributed to clarifying history, once started, I couldn't set it down.

Bill Cronin