Member of the Club; Reflections on Life in a Racially Polarized World

24 cm. xvii, [1], 300, [2] pages. Index. DJ has some wear and soiling. Inscribed and dated by the author on the title page. Lawrence Otis Graham (born 1962) is an African-American attorney and New York Times best-selling author. Lawrence Otis Graham is a corporate and real estate attorney as well as a New York Times bestselling author of 14 non-fiction books on the subject of politics, education, race and class in America. His work has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, Reader's Digest, U.S. News & World Report and Reader's Digest, where he has served as a contributing editor. His book Our Kind of People: Inside America's Black Upper Class was a New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Essence Magazine bestseller, as well as a selection of the Book of the Month Club. Graham is also the author of Member of the Club which was originally a cover story on New York Magazine, and was later optioned for a feature film by Warner Brothers. Derived from a Kirkus review: A collection of essays that examines the complexities of being a black achiever in a society that often fails to look beyond skin color. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He has not managed to escape the stigma of being black in America. His experiences with racism, both subtle and overt, are recorded in 12 essays that range in tone from humorous to heartbreaking. Probably the most famous of these relates his week spent as a busboy at an all-white country club and the casual prejudice to which he was subjected. Other essays deal with his life as an undercover homeboy in Harlem and his culinary experiences in New York's ten most prestigious restaurants. Graham's encounters with racism generally leave him feeling more bemused than bitter. His thoughts on alternatives to affirmative action seem particularly timely. It may not solve the country's race problems, but this clear-eyed account should be required reading for all Americans. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated].…