“ James Karales (1930–2002) was big-time in the best time but is not as well known as he should be,” argues photographic historian Vicki Goldberg. This book will change that. Early in his career, Karales began a photo-essay documenting Rendville, Ohio, an important stop on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War and one of the few racially integrated communities in America in the late 1950s. These pictures demonstrate his striking ability to capture the essential qualities of a community, are reminiscent of images made for the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s, and reflect Karales’ state of mind as he grappled with the racial issues that were to preoccupy him and America for many years to come.