From Kirkus Reviews
Anyone who can resist the temptation to dismiss this book as another conservative-in-liberal's-clothing attack on the legacy of the civil rights movement will find it disturbing and well worth reading. Veteran journalist Sleeper (The Closest of Strangers: Liberalism and the Politics of Race in New York, 1990) argues that liberals have shifted from the laudable goal of a race-blind society to a ``racialist'' mindset that segments society along racial lines. In their ``puzzling'' attachment to race, they defer to ``race hustlers, ideologues, and opportunists'' (read figures like William Kunstler and Al Sharpton) in ``the name of `diversity' '' instead of welcoming the prospect of a society that transcends race. But Sleeper is not an apologist for past and present racism. He shrilly condemns liberals who have lost sight of the importance of individualism and universal values, yet sets himself apart from conservative critics by recognizing the reality of discrimination and genuinely seeking a society in which race does not matter. This not only places him directly at odds with proponents of identity politics, it imposes a burden that he does not directly confront: If your goal is racelessness but you refuse to pretend that it already exists, some method of achieving that goal is required. Avoiding this tricky problem is excusable--public policy is not the focus here--but there is a more troubling matter to consider. Although Sleeper proceeds in a journalistic style by introducing us to a series of people, throughout he tends to lump ``liberals'' into a monolithic bloc and attack them as one. This not only suggests the presence of a straw man, it seems to be the kind of arbitrary grouping that Sleeper objects to when the commonality is race. Nevertheless, anyone with the courage to address such a loaded issue and to raise uncomfortable but undeniable concerns in an honest manner must be applauded. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
Liberals once fought for civil rights; now too many are reinforcing racist policies. Slepper's title considers the failure of American liberalism to live up to its initial visions of a color blind society: chapters show how liberals have been blinded by color, and how they're actually inviting racism and reinventing new methods of discrimination. -- Midwest Book Review
Sleeper is right to insist that liberals (not to mention conservatives) need to rethink their often incoherent attitudes about race. But if America is to construct something akin to a unifying civic narrative, it will require a more substantive, and colorful, account than he offers here. -- The New York Times Book Review, Robert S. Boynton
