In Search of Black America - (Discovering the African-American Dream) by David J Dent (Paperback)

About the Book

On a five-year odyssey that took him to Detroit, Michigan; Washington, D.C. and a host of other places, David Dent explored a world rarely seen by most Americans, black or white. His goal was to bring to life the stories of the diverse array of African Americans who are quietly and successfully pursuing their own versions of the American dream.

Book Synopsis

"Candid and consistently engaging, Dent's work contributes to a better understanding of the role of race in American life."

--Publishers Weekly

This landmark work looks at the lives of African Americans throughout the United States and challenges the typical notions of race across the nation.

Noted journalist and professor David Dent spent five years crisscrossing America on a mission to expose prevalent myths and stereotypes. With tape recorder in hand, he stopped in Detroit, Washington, D.C., Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Gallipolis, Ohio, Seattle, Virginia, and many other places, documenting widespread diversity in the lives of the black majority--middle and upper-middle class African Americans.

Candid and honest, controversial and pragmatic, and peopled with an eclectic and insightful array of characters, In Search of Black America is written with journalistic fervor and will change the way people view this piece of America that is often over-looked and little understood. This important and timely book is an invaluable addition to the ever-evolving debate about race in America.

Review Quotes

James Miller Boston Sunday Globe Dent is a fine storyteller...with a good eye for significant detail and sensitivity to the nuances of his characters' speaking voices.

Laurence Washington Rocky Mountain News (Denver) Offers diverse and complex slices of black middle- and upper-middle-class life, a life ignored far too long, until now.

Michael E. Ross The New York Times Book Review Dent's survey of encounters reveals black Americans on a variety of roads less traveled, increasingly comfortable with their place in the world, stubborn in their refusal to be defined by the insistences of the greater society, more inclined to bootstraps than coattails as a way to success.

About the Author

David J. Dent, a professor of journalism at New York University, writes for many publications. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Essence, and Newsday. He lives in New York City with his wife, Valerie, and two children, Lynnette and David Jr.