The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions Twentieth Anniversary Edition

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First published in 1998, this text became an immediate landmark in the debate over affirmative action in America. It grounded a contentious subject in concrete data at a time when arguments surrounding it were characterized more by emotion than evidence. It continues to present the most compelling data available about the effects of affirmative action.

Reviews

No study of this magnitude has been attempted before.... The evidence collected flatly refutes many of the misimpressions of affirmative-action opponents.New York Times
Any respectable discussion of the consequences of affirmative action in universities must now either acknowledge [this books] findings or challenge them, and any challenge must match the standards of breadth and statistical professionalism that [the authors] have achieved.Ronald Dworkin, New York Review of Books
On the strength of [the authors] credentials the reader can expect much, and much is delivered.... [This books] foundation is so solidly anchored to a bedrock of data that it will be relied upon as a navigational beacon for years to come.Robert E. Thatch, Science
The most ambitious and authoritative study to date of the effects of affirmative action in higher education. [A]n important corrective to conservative propaganda masquerading as social science.Ellis Cose, Newsweek

Author Bio

William G. Bowen (19332016) was president emeritus of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Princeton University and founding chairman of JSTOR and ITHAKA. Derek Bok is the 300th Anniversary University Research Professor, professor of law, and president emeritus of Harvard University.