PORTRAIT OF A DECADE

The Second American Revolution,"" as it is called in the subtitle here, is still in progress; it is the struggle for Negro rights and Negro expectations. Whether or not, as Mr. Lewis asserts, the country at large now recognizes ""that its great internal problem--socially, economically, politically--is the problem of race."" there has been an enormous number of recent books published about it--very likely too many for any one of the several good ones among them ever to reach the audience they deserve. The fact that this is one of those good once does not make it especially easy to distinguish in a few words from the rest. Mr. Lewis--and the Times, from which he quotes copiously judiciously, both his own work and that of other reporters--amounts here to first-rate journalism. The special angle, if there must be one, is an emphasis on the federal government's role; but the special virtue is that good, gray Times touch--the events do sweep by, somehow, with the majesty of history. The end result is an excellent primer, a fine refresher course, and a reliable source book.