'Superb. . . . A great American writer speaks with his own voice about matters that still resonate at the center of our lives.'--New York Times Book Review Celebrating its eightieth anniversary, Richard Wright's eloquent autobiography about growing up in the Jim Crow South that gives unique voice to being Southern, black, and male in early 20th century America--now available as a special Harper Perennial Olive Edition. When Black Boy exploded onto the literary scene in 1945, it was both praised and condemned. Orville Prescott of the New York Times wrote that 'if enough such books are written, if enough millions of people read them maybe, someday, in the fullness of time, there will be a greater understanding and a more true democracy.' Yet from 1975 to 1978, Black Boy was banned in schools throughout the United States for 'obscenity' and 'instigating hatred between the races,' and continues to remain controversial, coming under the scrutiny of censors today who are banning an alarming