Originally published in 1961, this
  still timely book illustrates the role of the judiciary in the solution of a
  social and political problem. It is unequaled in its description of the plight
  of federal judges who are charged with carrying out the decisions of the Supreme
  Court against segregation but who are under constant pressure--social,
  political, and personal --  to speak for the white South. Some have been
  ostracized by their communities as traitors; others have joined their state
  legislatures and local school boards in developing elaborate delay strategy
  to circumvent the Supreme Court's decisions.
 In his introduction to the first
  edition former Senator Paul H. Douglas wrote: ". . . a clear and comprehensive
  account of the legal struggles in the federal courts over segregation and desegregation
  in the public schools of the nation. It gets behind the newspaper headlines
  and gives a play-by-play account. . . . This book is indeed full proof of the
  delays and difficulties of the law and the pressures of local public opinion."