[.ca] American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the ... (ISBN 0674018214)

From Amazon.com:
"During the 1970s and 1980s a word disappeared from the American vocabulary," begins American Apartheid ". . . That word was segregation." But the practice of segregation certainly has not disappeared, as Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton glaringly expose. One-third of all American blacks live in one of just 16 urban areas, in neighborhoods so racially segregated they have almost no chance at interracial contact. The authors argue that segregation--and disassocation from not only other cultures, but other ways of life--is at the root of many problems facing African-Americans today.

Wow:
I, too, read this for an ethnicity class. I found it to be very informative and repeatedly found that I was saying to myself "Wow, I never noticed that, that's right!" Granted, it's fairly academic writing but I don't think it's written beyond the level of an average reader. If you're interested in the topic it raises some ideas that aren't talked about in a lot of places.

Piece of Crap?:
I have found that this book is extremelly helpful when writing a research paper. It is an easy read and an insightful work. I would not rely to much on what the previous "Professor" commented on. Though he/she is a professor they can't put a decent sentance together or spell.

Outstanding and important book:
This is the most important book explaining the causes of African-American disadvantage in the U.S. today. Packed with data and argumentation, it documents the devastating impact of residential segregation on African-American socioeconomic prospects. One of the best features of the book is the way it subsumes other prominant explanations of African-American disadvantage--for example, William J. Wilson's spatial-mismatch hypothesis, and "culture of poverty"/"black cultural pathology" theories--within its theoretical framework.

Lucy Aitkens:
This remains, without question, one of the most excellent and insightful assessments of race in America. Whether you are a US citizen or an international visitor to the US this book is fundmental to understanding the hidden dimensions of ongoing racial division. Read it and pass it on in the hope that people will recognise the irrefutable evidence of racial segregation offered by Massey and Denton.

A Peice of Crap:
I am sorry, but when I was reading this, It did not catch my attention, but rather put me to sleep. I am a college professor, and my students have written better papers than this. Have fun reading it if you want to fall a sleep. If you can't sleep, pick up this book