In 2008 Barack Obama was elected as the "first black president of the United States." The fact that he was "the first..." speaks volumes about the role of race in US society. Race has been and continues to be the overriding, but least discussed feature of US culture. Too often, lives have been advanced or destroyed because of little else than the color of one's skin. Stories on either side of the divide are legion in US history. The Company of Brookfield addresses the persisting issues of race and racism in the US in a most dramatic and extraordinary way. The gripping plot set in the 1920s (and beyond), is so much more than the love affair between Carrie, a white woman and Pierre, an African American man. Beyond that relationship, the human emotions of ambition, jealousy, greed, fear, and love are explored to full effect throughout the plot. Human strengths and failings permeate the pages of this exciting, fast-paced, never boring novel. The outhouse is utilized by the author to create a symbolic, unifying element in the novel. No one is spared the heinous influences-symbolically or concretely-of the ubiquitous and hated outhouses. From the town father, Joseph Trayer, to Pierre and Carrie, to the average citizen of Brookfield, the outhouse touches and leaves its mark on their lives. The Company of Brookfield is a love story with a political and social message. It is set within a historical timeline (1920s-1950s) and is influenced by many of the historical events of that period. This novel is truly a pick up, can't put down read destined to entertain and inspire, and leave a lasting influence on the human psyche