Reviews
" Boston (Brockport State College) argues that recent historical work on Booker T. Washington, which paints a portrait of an accomodationist Uncle Tom, is sharply contradicted by an examination of primary sources. He convincingly argues that Washington had a shrewd grasp of the unholy political forces, cultural antipathies, and lynch mobs arrayed against blacks in the Deep South between the Civil War and WWI, and he carefully explains Washington's ideas and the key influences that molded them."
--Choice, vol. 48 n4
Drawing on collections, interviews, letters, probate court records, and other primary sources in the main repository of Washington papers at the Library of Congress, as well as little-utilized sources at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Tuskegee University Archives, Bostonweaves a narrative that emphasizes the need to take into account the forces of racism and reaction that Washington encountered during slavery, Reconstruction, and the nadir.
--The Journal of American History
"A solid work that explores Washington's business philosophy and demonstrates that he pushed both practical education and self-improvement among African Americans as components of a conscious and well-developed business philosophy."
--American Historical Review
"Unmatched in its boldness, brialliance, and brevity."
"Solidly researched and splendidly argued."
--The Journal of Southern History Volume LXXVII, No. 4
"Creatively reexamines Washington's writings and speeches, focusing on his entrepreneurial spirit, to bring us a business-minded Washington."
--The Journal of African American History