David H. Jackson Jr.'s Tuskegee Engine. David H. Jackson Jr.'s Tuskegee Engine Chief Lieutenant exemplifies the life of Charles Banks as a leading supporter of Booker T. Washington, in the Tuskegee car. This descriptive autobiography of Charles Banks' life's work gives the reader an insight into the success of Booker T. Washington. Along with the biography of Charles Banks' life, the book also addresses the creation and struggles of Mound Bayou. It also provides the reader with an inside look at Booker T. Washington's complex economic concentrations rooted in the African-American community called the Tuskegee Machine. David H. Jackson is a college professor who was writing a research paper for a research seminar course. His professor gave the class a list of people to write a research paper about. Jackson randomly chooses Charles Banks from the list. A remarkable biography was born from his research article. Jackson begins his biography by stating in the preface the various purposes for which he wrote this biography. One of the goals was to provide students with a new interpretation of Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Machine as conniving, heavy-handed, intolerable, and ruthless. I believe this purpose was not adequately presented in the book. The author leads the reader to believe that the negative attention directed at Washington was a reaction to his "self-help" ideas. Washington is also described as a prominent leader "because they depended on his recommendation for federal political appointments (50)." He also makes this point clear by stating that “Washington influences could literally make or break Negroes in public life (50).” These comments lead the reader to believe that Washington's methods to... middle of paper... a new era has emerged for African Americans. The conclusion of the novel is evident of the work done to create a better tomorrow for black people. Jackson concludes the biography with the fall of Mound Bayou. Even as the city ends its “Golden Age,” Jackson notes that “the experiment worked. It worked not only because it gave blacks some respite from the onslaught of white supremacy, discrimination, oppression, and exploitation throughout the South, but also because it allowed them to exercise freedoms not practiced by a number of blacks in the south until decades later (215)". Mound Bayou was a stepping stone for great things to happen in history. I agree with the book's author's conclusion. Jackson's biography had a different purpose than those stated It showed the reader the success we can achieve when we work together on a common goal.