"The origins of the Chicago race riot of 1919 are to be found, not in high-level policy, but in gut-level animosities between black and white people who were generally inarticulate and presentist-oriented, and who did not record their motivations or feelings for posterity. . . To explain the Chicago riot, this evidence has to be found; and though such evidence is not abundant by any means, it does exist."--From the preface
 

William M. Tuttle is a professor emeritus of history and American studies at the University of Kansas. His books include "Daddy's Gone to War": The Second World War in the Lives of America's Children.
 

"Tuttle's catalogue of the causes of racial conflict in Chicago sounds depressingly up-to-date."-- Eric Foner, The New York Times Book Review

"Vividly written. A fine study with surprising appeal for the lay reader."--Publishers Weekly

"A fascinating and important study, as well researched and written and thought out as any this reviewer has seen in recent years."--Gilbert Osofsky, Journal of American History