Stars and Shadows

A searching history of interracial friendship and cooperation throughout American history ... A welcome case that all of us should just get along - and work hard to do so. * Kirkus Reviews *
This beautifully-written historical meditation on the powers of friendship is an extended reflection about meaningful connections that span America's racial borderlands. Stars and Shadows—a book I could not put down—probes often surprisingly resonant relations, taking in the personal and the political in a democratic zone marked by affection and regard. In troubling times, it is moving and encouraging to gain access to such sources of hope for the fraught American experience. * Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University *
A fresh, wise, humane antidote to the political bombast of our time. Amber brilliantly explores the way Americans have bonded across the racial divide from Thomas Jefferson to Angela Davis. Stars and Shadows is deeply researched, beautifully written, and genuinely moving. It all adds up to something special—a guide to the angels of our better selves—as individuals, as communities, and as a nation. * James A Morone, John Hazen White Professor, Brown University, and author of The Republic of Wrath: How American Politics Turned Tribal from George Washington to Donald Trump *
Saladin Ambar offers the rare combination of a gifted storyteller whose prose is hard to put down and a penetrating scholar of politics. In Stars and Shadows, he gives readers an inspiring and candid set of meditations on friendship mediated through the lens of race and spanning the entirety of US history. In these ten narratives he conveys why friendship is a democratic responsibility on which any thriving multiracial society depends. This book is an urgent and extremely enjoyable read. * Elizabeth F. Cohen, Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University *
Professor Ambar skillfully challenges readers to place the role of intra-racial political fraternity at the heart of American democracy. Using historical and present-day case studies of political friendships between Blacks and Whites, Ambar illustrates the prevalence of White supremacy in American politics but also adroitly weaves together a compelling account of friendships that challenge this political problem. This book is engaging, beautifully written, and thoroughly researched. Stars and Shadows is a must-read for students of American politics regardless of subfield or methodological orientation. * Nadia Brown, Professor of Government and Director of Women's and Gender Studies program at Georgetown University *
Illuminating. . . . [Stars and Shadows is] a welcome case that all of us should just get along-and work hard to do so. * Kirkus Reviews *
This beautifully-written historical meditation on the powers of friendship is an extended reflection about meaningful connections that span America's racial borderlands. Stars and Shadows-a book I could not put down-probes often surprisingly resonant relations, taking in the personal and the political in a democratic zone marked by affection and regard. In troubling times, it is moving and encouraging to gain access to such sources of hope for the fraught American experience. * Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University *
A fresh, wise, humane antidote to the political bombast of our time. Amber brilliantly explores the way Americans have bonded across the racial divide from Thomas Jefferson to Angela Davis. Stars and Shadows is deeply researched, beautifully written, and genuinely moving. It all adds up to something special-a guide to the angels of our better selves-as individuals, as communities, and as a nation. * James A Morone, John Hazen White Professor, Brown University, and author of The Republic of Wrath: How American Politics Turned Tribal from George Washington to Donald Trump *
Saladin Ambar offers the rare combination of a gifted storyteller whose prose is hard to put down and a penetrating scholar of politics. In Stars and Shadows, he gives readers an inspiring and candid set of meditations on friendship mediated through the lens of race and spanning the entirety of US history. In these ten narratives he conveys why friendship is a democratic responsibility on which any thriving multiracial society depends. This book is an urgent and extremely enjoyable read. * Elizabeth F. Cohen, Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University *
Professor Ambar skillfully challenges readers to place the role of intra-racial political fraternity at the heart of American democracy. Using historical and present-day case studies of political friendships between Blacks and Whites, Ambar illustrates the prevalence of White supremacy in American politics but also adroitly weaves together a compelling account of friendships that challenge this political problem. This book is engaging, beautifully written, and thoroughly researched. Stars and Shadows is a must-read for students of American politics regardless of subfield or methodological orientation. * Nadia Brown, Professor of Government and Director of Women's and Gender Studies program at Georgetown University *
Illuminating. . . . [Stars and Shadows is] a welcome case that all of us should just get along-and work hard to do so. * Kirkus Reviews *
Ambar's lucid history lessons and spirit of optimism make this an enlightening study of how racial progress is made. * Publishers Weekly *