Explores African-American conservative thought and politics from the late 18th century to the 1996 election. Some of the ten essays focus on a particular person or group, among them abolitionist James Forten, clergyman Henry McNeal Turner, and activist Bayard Rustin. Others consider themes, such as success manuals, Ellisonian cultural criticism, the Nation of Islam, and the Republican Party. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.