Books by Orlando Patterson

In this provocative new book, sociologist Orlando Patterson takes on the intractable dilemma of race in late 20th-century America. Using current demographic research, Patterson exposes common misperceptions about the lives and experiences of black and white Americans, misperceptions that are hampering the success of integration.

This magisterial work traces the history of our most cherished value. Patterson links the birth of freedom in primitive societies with the institution of slavery, and traces the evolution of three forms of freedom in the West from antiquity through the Middle Ages.