The contrast between Booker T. Washington's private actions and public utterances continues to be revealed in this latest volume in the much-acclaimed series. Although very little changes at Tuskegee Institute during this period, Washington's leadership was faltering in the face of a virulent white racism that appeared in the North as well as the South. Still, he continued his public pursuit of and optimism for moderate solutions to racial dissension. At the same time, however, he privately redoubled his efforts to silence his black opponents, build his personal political machine, influence the black press, and maintain his autocratic rile over Tuskegee Institute.