"Patricia Williams writes about timely subjects in a timeless way, in a voice that is both personal and objective. She is the rare writer who can be trusted with both our minds and our hearts." --Gloria Steinem "From one of our great theorists of race and the law comes this lovely and personal book. But this is no sweet little romp through Patricia Williams's family photos. Rather, she manages to write about Oprah, a manicure, and her Aunt Mary who passed as white (among countless other topics) with both warmth and incisiveness. No one does this kind of essay-writing-melding private and public, personal and political-with the grace or critical acuity of Patricia Williams." --Henry Louis Gates, Jr., W.

E.B. Du Bois Professor of the Humanities and Chair of Afro-American Studies, Harvard University "Open House is an astonishingly wise and important book. Whether meditating on Oprah Winfrey's photograph on the cover of Vogue or reflecting on the difficulty of explaining the arbitrariness of race to her young son, Williams possesses a rare gift: the ability to see the big picture in the details of everyday life. Her graceful and hopeful observations, tempered by irony and wit, tell us much about our nation in this troubled time." --Maurice Berger, author of White Lies: Race And The Myths Of Whiteness, Senior Fellow, the Vera List Center for Art & Politics, New School University "From the intellectual powerhouse who brought us The Alchemy of Race and Rights comes a delightful book that could well be called 'The Alchemy of Passion and Purpose.' This book is a treat. A real bon bon for the brain.

" --Veronica Chambers, author When Did You Stop Loving Me "In Open House, Patricia Williams again exhibits her singular skill in transforming life's problems, perils, and possibilities into an incandescence of understanding." --Derrick Bell, law teacher and author of cf0Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform "Open House is an open sesame to a storehouse of rich riffs on subjects as varied as eccentric aunts, genetic engineering, lobster, the hazards of conformity, computer profiling, cappucino machines, the social significance of Oprah, the politics of watermelon, (and passing as white--or Indian), and the challenge of raising a black child in a still-racist society. Spending time with Patricia Williams in this provocative, gorgeously-written collection of essays, is like sitting on the porch with a tall iced tea and the smartest person you know." --Letty Cottin Pogrebin, author of Three Daughters Praise for Seeing a Color-Blind Future: "Seeing a Color-Blind Future is a slender book that challenges us to dream the biggest dream--a deep democracy in which we see ourselves in each other. Patricia Williams instills it with her gifts of intelligent rage, compassion, and hope." --Gloria Steinem "This powerful text examines the everyday realities of race in such a powerful and poignant way that we can never fall back on the myth of color blindness even as we transcend race in our quest for humane ends and aims." --Cornel West Praise for The Alchemy of Race and Rights: "One of the most invitingly personal, even vulnerable, books I've read.

Williams has a knack for keeping you just a bit off balance.Her readings invigorate familiar controversies: If you thought there was nothing new to be said about Howard Beach or Eleanor Bumpurs, Tawana Brawley or Baby M., read Williams on them. But some of the most magical turns of argument flow from far less public events.The law needs a brain.and, even more, a heart and some courage. Certificates won't help. This book just might.

" --Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Nation "Williams' candor about the law and her life is refreshing.The.