Buy these books on dropping out and graduation

Two new books I saw at the History of Education Society meeting in Chicago and strongly recommend on a topic I began my career with:

• Russell Rumberger, Dropping Out (Harvard University Press, 2011). This is the definitive summary of research on the subject. It is depressing at times, but if you care about the subject, you need to read it.
• John Rury and Shirley Hill, The African American Struggle for Secondary Schooling, 1940-1980: Closing the Graduation Gap (Teachers College Press, 2011). This book details the great advances African Americans made in the mid-20th century to increase secondary-school attendance and attainment. It explores an all-too-ignored phenomenon in 20th century education that began before Brown v. Board of Education. This is the culmination of several years of research, and I am delighted to see this in press.