A vivid account of the implementation of the Brown decision in the South by southern federal judges committed to the rule of law. Bass's unlikely heroes are the federal judges-primarily those on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals-who vigorously and skillfully implemented Brown v. Board of Education in six southern states. The rich profiles show the character of the men who gave up prosperous lives, popularity, and friends to see that the constitutional rights of all citizens were protected.