There is a potent reason for the hype, the spin, and the eagerness with which so many have seized on The Shape of the River: The defenders of race-based preferences have been on a long, unbroken losing streak - in the courts, at the polls, and in the public debate. True to form, the New York Times devoted a page-length article to the book and its authors, printed excerpts, and endorsed the tome in an editorial. With equal attention to detail, the manuscript was withheld from experts and journalists suspected of harboring critical views, while advance copies were mailed to media outlets and experts who could be relied on to provide an echo chamber. The eminences who submitted dust jacket blurbs sing the praises of 'race sensitivity,' Bowen and Bok's euphemism for race preferences. No other social science book has been promoted so lavishly and with such determination to alter public debate. 'Racesensitive' admission practices, they find, have been good for blacks, good for elite universities, and good for the country. In it, the authors examine the consequences of these policies and find that they and their colleagues at other elite colleges have done an outstanding job.

Their collaborative effort last year, The Shape of the River, came billed as a turning point in the debate over affirmative action. Bowen and Derek Bok played leading roles in committing two of America's most prestigious institutions of higher learning to racial preferences in student admissions. $24.95ĪS FORMER PRESIDENTS of Princeton and Harvard respectively, William G. The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions.

Google books when the river runs dry