Frank Porter Graham

“In [this] well-researched biography, [Frank Porter] Graham emerges as more complex and human, and his career exposes the limitations of white liberalism in the post–World War II South. . . . A well-crafted and thoughtful account.”—Journal of Southern History

“An engaging and important book. . . . [T]his biography offers important lessons for how one man navigated the complexities of racism, higher education, politics, labor relations, and internationalism during mid-twentieth-century America.”—Journal of American History

“[Frank Porter Graham] raises important questions for those now trying to work on, learn at, or live nearby campuses whose uses have dramatically changed since the Founding. . . . Link’s account of Graham’s life . . . adds to the recent reconsiderations of how the academy has changed and its place in American life has dramatically shifted.”—Reviews in American History

“Link introduces readers to the illustrious career of Frank Porter Graham. . . . [This volume] would be suitable for inclusion in any academic library with a focus on North Carolina political or cultural history.”—North Carolina Libraries

“Well researched and well written, this important biography gives a full picture of the life and legacy of the avatar of twentieth-century southern liberalism.”—Kevin M. Kruse, co-author of Fault Lines: A History of America since 1974

“This fascinating biography of one of the most important figures in twentieth-century North Carolina is a significant contribution that promises to rejuvenate the study of white southern liberals.”—Jennifer Ritterhouse, author of Discovering the South: One Man’s Travels Through a Changing America in the 1930s

“Explains how Graham’s talents as a negotiator and his genuine belief that there was good to be found in almost everybody opened doors for him to influence a wide variety of people. Graham was the inspiration of a generation of North Carolina liberal political leaders including Kerr Scott, Terry Sanford and Jim Hunt. Even today, it is hard to understand North Carolina’s political divides without knowing the history of Frank Graham.”—D.G. Martin