We’re back with Book Nook, our Arts & Culture book club! In our Dec. 6 issue, we will publish the final installment in our series reviewing books linked to Oberlin. You have the chance to read along with us and submit your own review. All you have to do is write a few paragraphs — roughly 300 words — with your thoughts on the book and send it to [email protected]. You may be published alongside some of our other readers!

This month, we’ll be reading Elusive Utopia: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Oberlin, Ohio by Gary Kornblith and Carol Lasser. Elusive Utopia is a history of Oberlin in the 19th and early 20th centuries, from its founding in 1833 as a racially integrated utopian experiment to the post-Civil War and Emancipation era, where white residents still zoomed ahead in economic and social advantages. Eventually, people of color in the community were just as excluded from government and influence as everywhere else in America. Elusive Utopia is a compelling read that tracks the evolution of the community we all currently inhabit, from its idealistic origins to its current operation. 

We look forward to reading this book with you and hearing your thoughts! Please send submissions by Wednesday, Dec. 4.