This is a story of a frustrated, inarticulate Chicago Negro whose bewildered resentment of life can only be expressed by violence and murder, there is a melodrama as wel as stark realism, but above all there is unusual power, an understanding of Negro psychology, and compassion that never becomes special pleading. It is a disturbing book, and it will horrify many readers, not only by its frank brutalities, but by the menace that is implied in its revelation of Negro misery and degradation.

AFRICAN AMERICAN - BLACKS IN AMERICA