Reviews

"Carlotta Walls LaNier's "A Mighty Long Way" is a riveting account of nine brave high school students and their families in a quest for quality desegregated public education. What happened in Little Rock in 1957 resulted in America's greatest constiutional crisis since the Civil War. Carlotta's account of events inside and outside Little Rock Central High School should be read and studied particularly by those who now walk through doors of opportunity which Carlotta and her schoolmates first opened over 50 years ago. When I started her book, I couldn't put it down. It is a must-read."
— James L. "Skip" Rutherford III, Dean University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

“There is a quiet majesty to A Mighty Long Way. The telling of this journey is imbued with sweep, tenderness, and the sustained glory of memory.”
— Wil Haygood, Washington Post reporter and author of In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr.

“This hindsight account suggests that the nation still has not achieved closure about the painful events at Little Rock….Keenly observed and moving.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“This book shares how the Little Rock Nine, in a simple quest for a good education, opened new horizons for themselves and for future generations, but only after they paid a very high price…A Mighty Long Way will make you ashamed and proud, angry and hopeful, heartsick and happy. Carlotta tells it as it was, a story we all need to know.”
—President Bill Clinton

“Carlotta Walls LaNier’s memoir, A Mighty Long Way, is a searing and emotionally gripping account of a young black girl growing up to become a strong black woman during the most difficult time of racial segregation in Little Rock, Arkansas. The book is a page-turner and a tear-jerker, discussing the struggle and progress of an individual, and reflecting the historic challenges African Americans face in overcoming racial segregation. This book is a must read and should be required reading for every child of every race who may be trying to appreciate the values of education and the challenges that they might present for people who are different. We learn more about the struggles of the students of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas than is imagined, and it will change the way we evaluate the courage and dignity of people like Carlotta Walls LaNier.”
—Professor Charles Ogletree, Harvard Law School