Lemann, Nicholas

Contains photographs taken in the 1940s of small-town America as part of the Standard Oil photography project, and features essays in which the author discusses the changes that have taken place in those towns and in the lives of their citizens since that simpler time.

Examines the conflict that took place in the South in the years following the end of the Civil War over the rights of African-Americans, recounting key events of that civil rights battle and profiling men and women who worked to promote those rights.

Provides identity to those who have been participants in African American diaspora, and examines the issues of urban disintegration and rural poverty.

Chronicles the history of the Educational Testing Service and discusses how it was created, why researchers believed it would help create a new class of intelligent Americans, how the plan backfired, and how it affected American history.