Perspective

As noted in the section on the author in "Important People," the author was a noted Indian rights activist with both an academic and lived perspective on the centuries-old relationship between Indians and whites that forms the core of this book and the individual essays it contains. In short, he knows what he's talking / writing about ... he's lived it and he's thought about it.

Meanwhile, there is the sense throughout the book that in terms of both his reasons for writing and his intended audience, he is speaking with one purpose (education) but with the intent of reaching two different factions - whites and blacks. While he clearly intends to broaden the perspectives of both, those intentions manifest in different ways. His apparent intention towards whites is to divert them from fear-driven action towards understanding-driven consideration. Towards Indians, his intention is to divert them from resentment-driven reaction to...