As Richard Wright implies in his introduction to J. Saunders Redding's No Day of Triumph (1942), it is clear that his middle-class background, instead of isolating him from other blacks, provided Redding with a valuable perspective to understand, observe, chronicle, investigate, and criticize the workings of American society and, primarily, the place of the Negro in America. Redding, a prolific writer with a long and fruitful career, defies identification with any particular period; he lived through the Depression, the Harlem Renaissance, the black revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, and two world wars. He wrote boldly and objectively about the difficult and controversial issues of race relations and racial problems at a time when it was unpopular to do so. A scholar, teacher, novelist, historian, and critic, Redding achieved credibility by never attempting to be a spokesman for his race. Yet, by speaking honestly for himself he won that...