Barry JacobsAcross the Line: Profiles In Basketball Courage: Tales Of The First Black Players In The ACC and SEC

As the second black student at a major deep south university, I found Across the Line disappointing. My university did not sign a black recruit until four years after my graduation. I bought this book to see how these new recruits dealt with a potential hostile environment in the locker room, on the playing floor, and on campus. I was looking forward to reading about their role in transforming their universities and the south. Instead, this book is more about background. We get stories of the towns where the athletes grew up but little about the athletes themselves. We get stories about what had happened at the universities before the athletes arrived rather than what was happening when the athletes attended. We get virtually nothing about the games themselves. I wish there were more about the making of sports history rather than just history itself. There are virtually no interviews with the teammates, with the opposing players and coaches. The is virtually nothing on the practices, on going to class and on campus life. For the sports fan there is still an important story yet to be told.

Great sports history account of the first black college basketball players in the ACC and Southeastern Conferences.

Fantastic read! Hard to believe that these conditions existed only 40 years ago!

One of the most important "sports" books you'll ever read. The stories of the student-athletes who crossed the color line at southern universities are remarkable, particularly given that most of their experiences are only a generation or so old. The book is incredibly well-researched; unfortunately, the same can't be said for another review on this site. The Auburn player who committed suicide was Henry Harris, and the author explains that he did so two years after he left the school. He did not jump out of a dorm-room window. If you are going to accuse someone of getting the facts wrong on a public forum, be very sure you have at least read what they have written and can prove a factual error. If you care about civil rights, history, and/or the culture of American sports, this book tells invaluable and untold stories.