Lukas, J. Anthony. Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families. New York: Vintage Books, 1986.
This work is about the perceptions of three very different families of the city-wide desegregation of the Boston public schools. Lukas conducted extensive interviews with the members of these families: one black (Twymon), one white middle class (Diver) and one working class Irish (McGoff). Consequently, Lukas is able to present the both the city of Boston and the problems surrounding school desegregation and urban communities through three vastly different lenses. He is interested in how each family's station in life and background influenced their perspectives on the urban landscape, the public policy of school desegregation and about the other ethnic and class groups in the city. Lukas gives a very detailed account of the how these families viewed the busing situation in Boston and its effects on their lives. His method provides for valuable insight into the American urban experience, as it makes clear that urban community problems stem from the perceptions and fears of every type of urban resident. Common Ground is also a great study in the genesis, life and decline of grassroots community movements. [E. Benedict]