Product Description

The civil rights movement was arguably the most important reform in American history. This book recounts the extraordinary and often bloody story of how tens of thousands of ordinary African-Americans overcame long odds to dethrone segregation, to exercise the right to vote and to improve their economic standing.

Organized in a clear chronological fashion, the book shows how concerted pressure in a variety of forms ultimately carried the day in realizing a more just society for African- Americans. It will provide students of American history with an invaluable, comprehensive introduction to the Civil Rights Movement.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #290166 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 220 pages

From the Back Cover

The civil rights movement was arguably the most important reform in American history. This book recounts the extraordinary and often bloody story of how tens of thousands of ordinary African-Americans overcame long odds to dethrone segregation, to exercise the right to vote and to improve their economic standing. Their civil rights movement required unfathomable courage and persistent agitation, during which many activists sacrificed their homes, jobs and lives.

Written in a lively and accessible style, the book:

• Provides a detailed discussion of the racism that accompanied slavery in America and thereafter consigned African-Americans to an inferior position
• Addresses the actions of  racists, liberals, and reformers and radicals
• Discusses local reformers who laboured for years to get the movement off the ground
• Provides documents covering the most important aspects of the modern civil rights movement
• Contains Maps and Photographs, as well as a Glossary, Chronology, a Who's Who list of key figures, and a Guide to Further Reading.

Organized in a clear chronological fashion, the book shows how concerted pressure in a variety of forms ultimately carried the day in realizing a more just society for African- Americans. It will provide students of American history with an invaluable, comprehensive introduction to the Civil Rights Movement.

Bruce J. Dierenfield is Peter Canisius Distinguished Teaching Professor of American History at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where he directs the All-College Honors Program and the African-American Experience.

About the Author

Bruce J. Dierenfield is Peter Canisius Distinguished Teaching Professor of American History at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where he directs the All-College Honors Program and the African-American Experience.

Customer Reviews

Disappointingly superficial
The Seminar Studies in History series has proved invaluable to countless students over the years. But this one is very disappointing. It reads less like careful historical analysis than a TV script. The author seems happier as a cheerleader for the civil rights activists than as a social and political historian. There are gaping holes in the attempt to describe the strategies of Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson and the contexts in which they operated. Some contentious direct quotations are given without attribution. A charitable explanation is that the author didn't want to make an exciting story too dull and data-laden. But if that is so, this superficial book should have gone to a different publisher and should not have been included in the Seminar series.