Sober news reports of a U.S. Army convoy rumbling across the bridge into Little Rock cannot overpower this intimate, powerful, personal account of the integration of Little Rock Central High School. Showing what it felt like to be one of those nine students who wanted only a good high school education, Roberts’s rich narrative and candid voice take readers through that rocky year, helping us realize that the historic events of the Little Rock integration crisis happened to real people—to children, parents, our fellow citizens.

Terrence Roberts graduated from California State University and earned a PhD in psychology from Southern Illinois University. He now resides in California, where he owns and directs a management consulting firm. President Clinton presented Roberts with the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999. Roberts is a frequent public speaker and has been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rachel Maddow Show, and NPR’s Tavis Smiley Show.