"As a foray into still largely unexplored terrain, Chappell's book is vital."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"In Waking from the Dream, Chappell chronicles how the remaining leaders of the civil rights revolution and their heirs have attempted to live up to [Martin Luther] King's legacy, and to navigate this second, more anodyne phase of the fight for racial equality. [...] Along the way, he notes, they've managed to score political wins smaller in scale than the victories of the King era, but no less important."
-- Jamelle Bouie Bookforum
"Chappell’s research is judicious, his writing is lucid, and he has produced a significant book on the post-King era."
-- Terry H. Anderson Journal of Southern History
"Chappell combines two remarkable strengths in a historian. First, he is an excellent storyteller with the ability to translate the personalities and political intrigues of another generation into narratives that still matter."
-- Richard Lischer Christian Century
"...Waking from the Dream remains a valuable addition to our understanding of the black freedom struggle in shifting social, political, and economic climates."
-- Robert Widell Journal of American History
"David L. Chappell is a leading historian of the civil rights movement, and his latest book should help solidify that stature. ... His main contribution is the interpretive sweep and boldness he brings to these topics. Chappell has already altered many historians’ thinking about the civil rights movement in its heyday, and this book’s provocative arguments may lead readers to rethink their assumptions and judgments about the civil rights movement after King, too."
-- David Howard-Pitney American Historical Review