Taming the River: Negotiating the Academic, Financial, and Social Currents in Selective Colleges and Universities

(Princeton University Press) This book examines the academic and social dynamics of different ethnic groups during the first two years of college. Focusing on racial differences in academic performance, the authors identify the causes of students’ divergent grades and levels of personal satisfaction with their institutions. The book looks at all facets of student life, and explores how black and Latino students experience pressures stemming from campus racial climate and “stereotype threat.” Margarita A. Mooney is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Douglas S. Massey is the Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University.