The landmark New York Times bestseller that demonstrates the
benefits of race-conscious admissions in higher education
First published in 1998, William Bowen and Derek Bok's The Shape of the
River 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--and it made a forceful case that race-conscious
admissions were successfully helping to promote equal opportunity.
Today, the issue of affirmative action remains unsettled. Much has
changed, but The Shape of the River continues to present the most
compelling data available about the effects of affirmative action. Now
with a new foreword by Nicholas Lemann and an afterword by Derek Bok,
The Shape of the River is an essential text for anyone seeking to
understand race-conscious admissions in higher education.