Adam Fairclough's book on black teachers in the segregated South impressively marshals a wide range of original archive material and a substantial and diverse secondary literature to tell an important story. Black teachers were often instrumental to black advancement, as the list of familiar names of black educators in the ranks of black leaders, from Booker T. Washington to Ida B. Wells, suggests.

However, Fairclough's book is not all about familiar figures; indeed, much of it is dedicated to examining the experience of black teachers from the “bottom up” rather than the “top down.” Fairclough provides rich detail and vibrant portraits of black educators battling for survival against the shifting whims of white supremacy, in rural areas, towns and cities, across the South. In doing so, he acknowledges the central role played by black women in black education. The book also charts the role played by black teachers at the end of segregation. It considers the teachers' salary equalization suits in the 1940s as a forerunner of later black activism, assesses the relationship between black teachers and the civil rights movement, and analyzes the effect of integration on the profession.

The main drawback of the book stems from framing it as a survey of the “beginning, middle and end” of the story on the basis that it is “best understood if it is told in full” (7). While this is true, even at over five hundred pages the book sometimes struggles to balance narrative drive with depth of analysis. This is particularly evident in the last three chapters, which cover developments since 1940.

Nevertheless, in a book that has so much to offer, it would be wrong to focus on what remains undone. It is testimony to the Herculean task which Fairclough takes on that each chapter could easily form the basis of an original monograph in its own right – and in some cases, very probably many more. For anyone interested in engaging such a project, Fairclough's book is the benchmark work in the area. For everyone else, it is a welcome and valuable addition to the literature on southern, African American and education history.