A time to lose

by Paul E. Wilson

This thoughtful and engaging memoir opens up a previously hidden side to what many consider the most important Supreme Court decision of the twentieth century. With quiet candor Paul Wilson reflects upon his role as the Kansas assistant attorney general assigned "to defend the indefensible" - the policy of "separate but equal" that was overturned on May 17, 1954 by Linda Brown's precedent-shattering suit. The Brown decision ended legally sanctioned racial segregation in our nation's public schools, expanded the constitutional concepts of equal protection and due process of law, and in many ways launched the modern civil rights movement. Since that time, it has been cited by appellate courts in thousands of federal and state cases analyzed in hundreds of books and articles, and remains a cornerstone of law school education. Wilson reminds us that Brown was not one case but fourincluding similar cases in South Carolina, Virginia and Delaware - and that it was only a quirk of fate that br