I remember being deeply offended when John Carlos raise his gloved hand on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics. It was easy for me to decide that he was just being disrespectful and arrogant, but I was missing one thing: the context behind that action. Carlos provides a very thoughtful and honest story in which he reveals how that action on the medal stand, even though he admits it was spontaneous, was also the result of the life he was born into, as well as the life he chose for himself. Carlos' story begins during the Harlem Renaissance of his childhood, where his concern for others began when most are worrying only about themselves. In fact, it was his ability to outrun law enforcement officials after stealing food and everyday goods off trains that provided early indications of the speed that would take him to that medal stand. Dyslexia made school difficult for him, but Carlos managed a full university scholarship because he could outrun everyone. Instead of solving his problems, the scholarship heightened his awareness of the injustices his predecessors had suffered during the days of slavery. Ultimately, it forced him to come to terms with the fact that slavery still existed in the way black scholarship athletes were treated, which rekindled his earlier concern for others. When he met and was influenced by Dr. Martin Luther Kind, Jr. and Malcolm X, he learned that others shared his concern also had ideas about how to affect change. The rest of Carlos' memoir reveals his role in the plan to boycott the 1968 Olympics, why it ultimately failed, and how the USA Track Team responded, and how Carlos' life was haunted by his decision to raise his fist. Now that I understand the reasons behind that action, I not only appreciate but applaud his action. There are two powerful lessons in this book: (1) A picture can never reveal the complete, true story behind the moment it captures, and (2) we haven't made as much progress in civil rights as we fool ourselves into believing. An attitude-changing and thought-provoking story and many levels for many people -- not just sports fans.