The warmth of other suns : the epic story of America's great migration

Ida Mae Gladney, Robert Pershing Foster, and George Starling are three unforgettable people who will now never be forgotten, thanks to Isabel Wilkerson. Their stories dealing with the Jim Crow South and the less-than-receptive North and West are amazing. By switching between their stories and some summary history of the Great Migration, Wilkerson has created a very readable and moving masterpiece.

Isabel Wilkerson explores the Great Migration by following three Southern emigrants who left from different cities in different years with different destinations. Through this relatively simple frame, she explores complex sociological issues surrounding race relations in the US. The horror, injustice and human suffering recounted here will break your heart, but it will, hopefully, provide greater insight into modern urban issues. If you like the work of Jonathan Kozol, or Nell Irvin Painter's "The History of White People," this book is a good choice for you.