This is a column collection, or as one colleague called it, "history in real time," recounting my perspective on the highs and lows of this presidency from an African-American perspective. More than simply a column collection, the book has a substantial introduction that frames the [Barack] Obama presidency, explores the way Obama was treated by the political establishment and also how this first black president treated "his" people. In the epilogue, I use numbers to tell the story of African-American gains and losses during this presidency.

Interesting statistic: In every economic recovery until 1982, working people captured more than 80 percent of the value of the recovery. Since 1982, the top 10 percent has captured 90 percent of the value of the economic recovery.

The published record will show that many in Chicago have mixed feedback on the President's [Barack Obama] role as organizer.

When public policy is directed toward urban spaces, it is directed toward people who sit at the margins.

Young African - millennials really love Barack Obama.

Frankly, I'd love to see a multiparty system, like we have in some of our European countries. But I'm not sure how to get there.

Trayvon Martin could have been any of our sons, so I was not especially moved by that remark of President [Barack] Obama's.