This is a sequel to Washington's first autobiographical book, Up From Slavery, which depicted his early life. He says "This book contains answers to the questions I have frequently been asked as to how I have worked out for myself the educational methods which we are now using at Tuskegee; and, finally, to illustrate, for the benefit of the members of my own race, some of the ways in which a people who are struggling upward may turn disadvantages into opportunities." "The fact that I was born a Negro, and the further fact that I have all my life been engaged in a kind of work that was intended to uplift the masses of my people, has brought me in contact with many exceptional persons, both North and South." Chapter after chapter reveals how he raised money from willing white philanthropists to support Tuskegee Institute, how his travels to study European methods of education influenced him, lessons he learned from fellow negros, and how his patient educational approach differed from what many more radical black activists advocated. (Summary by Michele Fry)