Guerrero's book is self-effacing; she undoes her own argument.

Her thesis is a respect for a diversity of viewpoints is essential to the proper functioning of a law school, a university, and our society at large, and she argues that a certain mass of non-white students is necessary to foster that respect for a diversity of viewpoints. Sounds plausible.

How, then, does the author herself illustrate that respect for diversity she wishes us all to adopt?

Take the case of the then-dean of Boalt Hall, Herma Hill Kay, herself a pioneering woman in the legal profession who overcome discrination. When Dean Kay felt obliged to follow the law -- she was a dean of a school of law, after all -- forbidding use of race as a factor in admissions decisions, that made her, in Guerrero's view, a timid sell-out. Guerrero makes no effort whatsoever to understand, let alone respect, Dean Kay's position. Guerrero doesn't agree with Kay's position, and that is all the justification Guerrero needs to reduce Dean Kay to a caricature.

Likewise with the professors who favored a race-neutral focus on standard admissions criteria, either because they believe the government has no grounds for apportioning benefits on the basis of skin color, or because they believe that an elite graduate school should focus relentlessly on academic criteria. Guerrero portrays them as, at best, hopelessly outdated and complicit with racism, and, at worst, racist.

In short, if you disagree with Guerrero, you have a character flaw. That's the "new diversity" Guerrero embodies in her book. (Good luck to us all.)

Now, the fact that Guerrero's own intolerance undoes her argument does not negate the possibility that an increased diversity of racial backgrounds in any given institution generally will yield increased respect for others' opinions -- even if it does generate some Guerreroan attitudes as well. But there is strong reason to worry that this modern concept of "diversity" is generally marked by intolerance -- as in the case of Guerrero. To consider that important issue, visit the "Critical Mass" webiste of Erin O'Connor or read Peter Wood's new book.

In the end, then, Guerrero's book is a useful factual compendium, but displays an unintended irony that defeats her own argument.

Guerrero provides both a well-written account of the rise and fall of affirmative action at Boalt Hall, and an articulate argument for the merits, especially in law school, of affirmative action. Her writing eschews ideological hyperbole and throughout remains grounded in the real issues affecting the greater population by a lack of diversity in law schools and the law community at large. Even those who disagree with affirmative action will find this book of interest for the readable account of, and insight into, the students of Boalt Hall who felt compelled to fight for their beliefs.

This book is thoroughly researched and compellingly argued. Guerrero takes a case study of the effects of affirmative action at Boalt Law School at the University of California at Berkeley, which was forced to abandon affirmative action several years ago. She concludes that the new policy has been a disaster for the educational quality of the school, which greatly benefits from the presence of a wide range of backgrounds and experiences among its students.

Guerrero was admitted in the last class at Boalt to use affirmative action before it was dismantled by Ward Connerly and the Board of Regents. The results were dismaying, as the diversity at Boalt plummeted to embarrassingly low levels. Although it has recovered somewhat through the efforts of the admissions staff, the white and Asian populations there now dominate the classes at the expense of African-Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. This is greatly detrimental to the educational experience. How, for example, can Boalt adequately teach about the legal issues facing Native Americans when it has almost none in its student body to enrich the education of others?

This book is a particularly important read in light of the upcoming Supreme Court case on affirmative action at the University of Michigan. This book details what the negative impacts when affirmative action is abolished, even under the weak alternative offered by President Bush.

And by the way, [in my opinion,] another book on diversity at Boalt entitled The Diversity Hoax is a right-wing rant with factual errors rampant throughout.... Silence at Boalt Hall is a far better piece of investigative research. I highly recommend it.

The book had some interesting stuff, but nothing that I didn't know before. It also talked to much abour other people like Robin Williams and Gywneth Paltrow. The pictures were the best part.

I love Ben Affleck, so i thought this book was good. But it had things in it that had nothing to do Ben Affleck or Matt Damon.

I'm using this book for a term paper in school. It gives a lot of information on Affirmative Action and ties in the Bakke Case. Not only did it begin with the Civil Rights Period, but it went back very far historically to the beginning of Slavery. It is written in a very chronilogial order, which is very helpful for notes and understanding the judicial process behind this case.The information on Bakke and the other people involved in very good. Arguments are made both for and against Affirmative Action. There is no bias. It is written very clearly and it is really not possilbe to get caught up in all the legal terms. I would recommend this book to anyone studying or interested in Affirmative Action and/or the Bakke Case, although it may be a little young for some.

This handy book has over 700 delicious healthy non-alcholic drinks, it has recipes suitable for both hot and cold weather, also each has a nutritional and calorie count. The ingredients are easy to obtain and instructions are simple to follow. A brief decription on the ingredients used is also included. One or my favourites is HOT PIE & COFFEE, with ingredients like apple cider, brown sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg and then mix with hot black coffee, once tried, you'll be addicted to it.

This book is really good for advanced learner of English as well as beginners in linguistic studies. Also it is a good desktop reference for language-teaching professionals because sometimes they need more linguistic insights of English grammar. Highly readable and recommendable.

A fairly concise yet complete review of the many variants of the famous Gatling gun. Here are traced its roots from the invention of Richard Gatling, its priciples of working, its evolution into the 20mm Vulcan and all the subsequent evolution thereon. Also included are a description of the 30mm GAU-8A Avenger cannon, mounted on the Thunderbolt tank-buster aircraft, the Phalanx Close-in Weapon System for ship protection, Vulcan Air defense System, pod mounted Gatling guns and a history of the development of the Gunship Aircraft. Probably the only book in commerce to treat every facet of these related but very specialistic topic. Very worth the price if you are curious about this fearsome weapon system.

Very good book about 3 women figuring it all ou

This book contains about 400 MCQs (choose-the-best-answer format), including matching questions. At the end of each chapter is corresponding answers, a reference to the text where you can find the background of the answer, and a short discussion of various issues raised by the question.

Most of the questions are based on case scenarios. In addition, many questions are accompanied by x-rays, diagrams, and ECG.

Chapters include: Allergy & Immunology, Infectious Disease, Rheumatology, Pulmonary Medicine, Cardiology, Endocrinology & Metabolic Disease, Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Hematology & Oncology, Neurology, Dermatology, Prevention & other Topics.

This is a small but very practical book about herbs. It is like a dictionary discribing herbs one by one in alphabetic order. Easy to read and with good tips. Important for who wants cultivate herbs. Few photos.

Este atlas en una excelente guia de identificación para hidrobiologos que se dedican a la evaluación de los sistemas de tratamiento de aguas residuales a través de la presencia de ciertas comunidades de plankton.