398 NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW [July

other segments of the government-in differing or contradictory ways.”

Legislatures THE AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE PROCESS :

CONGRESS AND THE STATES. By William J. Keefe and Morris S. Ogul. Prentice- Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632. x, 498 pp. Charts and tables, $7.95.

Public attention has been focused upon American legislatures more in the past few months than it has in many decades. A bloc of liberal Democratic congressmen has been waging a fight to achieve a set of “reforms” in the United States House of Representatives, state legislatures across the nation have been grappling with the problems of redistricting and, in state after state, Democrats have been called upon to select new legislative leaders as their party assumes control of that branch of state government, often for the first time in a generation.

It is a good time to read a book about the legislative process. The authors of this work carefully view legislative insti- tutions in relationship to “larger environ- ments and inclusive political systems.” By this they mean they give as much con- sideration to the role of factors outside the legislative arena (parties, interest groups, chief executives and the courts) as to the internal workings of the law- making bodies. Attention is given to both Congress and state legislative chambers.

Primarily written for textbook usage, it is, however, a handy guide for any in- telligent laymen interested in the subject matter.

W. J.D.B.

The Racial Problem THE CRISIS IN BLACK AND WHITE.

By Charles Silberman. Random House, 33 West 60th Street, New York, 1964. xii, 370 pp. $1.95 (paperback).

Charles Silberman has synthesized his- tory and politics, psychology and sociol-

ogy in such a way as to bring fresh insights to a discussion of racial prob- lems. In dissecting the varied responses to the crisis, for example, in the field of education, he attacks the so-called practi- cal programs designed to adjust an indi- vidual to life and prepare him for some vocation or profession. “To be practical now,” warns Silberman, “an education must prepare a man for work that does not yet exist and whose nature cannot even be imagined. This can be done only by teaching people how to learn. . , .”

There are many other acrid but accu- rate statements to be found in the book, forcing white and black to surrender clichis for more constructive responses. H e declares that self-hatred among Ne- groes and the arrogance of white superi- ority must go. Before Negroes are to be treated alike, they themselves must feel that they are men capable of controlling their own futures. Whites in turn must modify their insistence on two points- that individual ability be the ultimate criterion and that the Negro’s demands be more moderately spaced over time. Conflict, the author warns, is inevitable and one must accept the fate that the out- come will result in harsh if not painful actions. The wisdom of Rabbi Heschel’s words resounds: “So long as our society is more concerned to prevent strife than to prevent humiliation, its moral status will be depressing indeed.”

The book closes with the controversy over the proper role and function of the social worker, group organizer and com- munity leader. Should they help organize the poor, including most Negroes, into groups-teaching them the skills and building their capacity for the political arena which make life uncomfortable for the Establishment? The author unhesitat- ingly takes his positive stand.

Lobbying PRIVATE GROUPS IN ILLINOIS GOVERN-

MENT. Final Report and Background