Tragic Failure: Racial Integration in America

For twenty-five years Tom Wicker wrote for The New York Times with passion and intelligence, educating a generation of readers on important social and political issues of the day. In Tragic Failure, this keen observer assesses the failure of racial integration in America.

Thirty years after the landmark achievements of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, racial equality has made little progress and has, in fact, suffered setbacks as issues such as affirmative action, welfare reform, crime, and unemployment have made race the subtext for bitter political debate. Here, Mr. Wicker examines the current state of race relations and proposes some bold solutions-including major political realignment-to the disturbing and complex problems of race in America.

Tom Wicker retired as a political columnist for The New York Times in 1991, having won numerous awards and accolades. Author of nine novels and five nonfiction books, he lives in New York City and Rochester, Vermont.