Justin Drivers compact and insightful new book appears at a time when the governments approach to discrimination has shifted dramatically.... [ He] does an excellent job of concisely rehearsing the lawyers lines of reasoning in terms that non-lawyers can understand.... The [ Trump Administrations] siege is well underway, and one can only hope that university leaders, faculty members and students will consult this worthy book as they work to ensure that those commitments survive. Wesleyan president Michael S. Roth, New York Times Book Review
[ The Fall of Affirmative Action] is a challenging read for a conservative like me. I always try to read the best arguments for the opposing point of view, and Drivers arguments in favor of affirmative action are the best Ive read. David French, New York Times
Driver candidly criticizes liberals for too often failing to take on these critiques of affirmative action. He takes them seriously, which is more than many liberals do.... For those who believe that the disproportionately low numbers of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students in the nations most selective schools remain a problem to be solved, Driver has some excellent suggestions. New York Review of Books
A judicious assessment of the history of affirmative action, with strong arguments for diversity in the wake of its demise. Kirkus Reviews
This book stands as a brilliant reminder that the nations struggles to overcome the tragic legacy of discrimination against African Americans cannot and should not be subject to closure. Justin Drivers insightful analysis of the Supreme Courts decision in SFFA v. Harvard provides much-needed hope for our future. A book critically important to this fraught moment for American higher education. Lee C. Bollinger, president emeritus of Columbia University and author of A Legacy of Discrimination: The Essential Constitutionality of Affirmative Action
Justin Driver is a dazzling commentator on legal affairs who deploys prodigious knowledge and a knack for lively writing to make complex controversies accessible. This is, without exception, the single best volume in the library of books about affirmative action. It passionately advances a thesisaffirmative action is useful and ought not to have been nullifiedwhile paying scrupulous attention to contending points of view. It is a masterful intervention that offers bracing instruction whatever your prior inclination. The Fall of Affirmative Action warrants reading and rereading. Randall Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Although much has been written about affirmative action, Professor Justin Driver has written a book that is stunning in its originality and insights. He carefully shows the weaknesses in both the conservative critiques and the liberal defenses of affirmative action. Most important, he offers a concrete path forward for universities to pursue diversity while being consistent with the Supreme Courts rulings. Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Always read Justin Driver, one of our foremost thinkers on law and educationespecially now, when so much is unsettled in this enormously consequential domain of American life. This book is full of insight, trenchant analysis, and provocative questions about what the loss of affirmative action means. Emily Bazelon, author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration
Justin Driver wields one of Americas most agile legal minds, and this important book shows it. In the face of affirmative actions demise, he does something rare: offers clear-eyed, workable ideas to help American higher education pursue its highest ideals. Franklin Foer, author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future
