This anthology attempts to put the great school bus controversy of the 1970's in perspective by providing a forum in which a series of widely differing views, backed by hard data, can be compared. The first section, "Background and Legal History," places the controversy in a perspective that predates the 1970's. One article focuses on the history and scope of school busing in America. The second turns on the problem of whether public schools are to be racially mixed or merely color blind. The third article is also concerned with practical consequences, but those relating to a dangerous collision between the Judiciary and the Legislature. The second section, "The Debate Over Evidence and Social Policy," is an extension of the first, but focuses on questions directly concerned with establishing the criteria of a successful busing program and determining the relationship between government policy and social science. By contrast, the writing in section three of the anthology is descriptive rather than analytic in emphasis--a series of direct reports on the impact of busing--many of them "new journalistic" in nature. The final section, "Busing and Black Political Strategy," turns to the issue that could finally determine the outcome of the busing struggle. (RJ)