James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time was one of the essential books of the sixties and one of the most galvanizing books of the American civil rights movement. Now, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, with a new generation of Americans confronting what Baldwin called our "racial nightmare," best-selling author Randall Kenan asks: How far have we come? The shocking revelations of New Orleans confirmed a shameful truth. Randall Kenan declares that truth, and seeks its transcendence, in this impassioned book.--From publisher description.