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“Who would expect a coauthor of two Saturday Night Live alumni biographies (The Chris Farley Show; Belushi) to pen a thoughtful, judicious, yet provocative social history of American race relations? Evenhanded, felicitously written, and animated by numerous interviews, Colby’s book is a pleasure…” — Library Journal
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“I’ve often thought that the issue of race has been more than adequately dealt with by America’s people of color and that it was finally white people’s turn to engage with the uncomfortable subject if we were to move forward together as a nation. In Some of My Best Friends Are Black, Tanner Colby bravely and ably accepts the challenge. This book taught me unexpected and valuable lessons about my country, my people, and myself. What can a white guy named Tanner teach a black guy named Baratunde about race in America? Turns out the answer is ‘plenty.’” — Baratunde Thurston, author of How to be Black
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“. . . a wonderful book that deserves to be read widely . . .” — NY Journal of Books
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"a refreshingly honest and textured story that has much to contribute to conversations about race in America." — The Wilson Quarterly
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"Colby, emerging from the “comedians who died young” pigeonhole that he had made for himself after penning biographies of both Chris Farley and John Belushi, finds a new way into a national discussion, which is so cluttered at this point that it can be difficult to find the floor. His refreshing angle is based in aw-shucks honesty and an earnest humor... The picture Colby creates, of base tribalism and failed good intentions, is simultaneously disheartening and inspiring, but this contradiction seems perfectly in keeping with the larger contradictions of the land of the free." — The Daily Beast
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“Pointing out the shortfalls of court-ordered busing, affirmative action, and other well-intentioned programs, Colby’s charming and surprisingly funny book shows us both how far we’ve come in bridging the racial divide and how far we’ve yet to go.” — Publisher’s Weekly
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“With depressing persuasiveness, the author argues that we haven’t achieved racial integration, because, well, we don’t really want to. …the author’s personal voice is compelling and his thesis is most disturbing. Recommended reading for anyone who still thinks we live in a post-racial America.” — Kirkus
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"Kansas City residents who are proud of their metropolis might wish Tanner Colby had never written Some of My Best Friends are Black, despite the book's supurb qualities." — The Kansas City Star
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“In weaving together the personal narratives (including his own) of “the Children of White Flight” and “the Children of the Dream” Tanner Colby has crafted a powerful piece of social commentary and contemporary history. Hugely readable, quirky, and incredibly smart, Some of my Best Friends Are Black presents four unforgettable smaller stories to tell the big story of race in today’s America.” — Tim Naftali, author of George H.W. Bush and director emeritus of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
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“Irony, surprise, virtue, and hustling are always the interwoven story of ethnic troubles in America. Tanner Colby lets us see that, however many advances have been accomplished, the unfamiliar styles of those who intend to do well—along with those who inevitably pollute any area with short-sighted economic dreams—inevitably lead to a universal conclusion: “Mistakes were made.” The story of how and why this happened is what gives this book something special beyond the usual sentimentality imposed on human events, above and below.” — Stanley Crouch, author of Reconsidering the Souls of Black Folk