From the introduction: "Tradition has it that every American child receives, as part of his birthright, the freedom to mold his own life. . . . However inaccurate as a description of American society, the success myth reflects what millions believe that society is or ought to be. The degree to which opportunity has or has not been available in our society is a subject for empirical investigation. It rests within the realm of verifiable fact. The belief that opportunity exists for all is a subject for intellectual analysis and rests within the realm of ideology. This latter dimension of the success myth is the primary focus of this book."

The great American success story offers you the opportunity to sit down with some of the most accomplished people in America and learn from the best of the best what it takes to be a success. /

Statisticians tell us that impoverished backgrounds are decent predictors of impoverished futures. This book seeks out the stories behind the exceptions. While the authors reveal consistencies between pathmakers' approaches and those of their middle-class counterparts, it also exposes striking differences between men and women, blacks and whites.