This paper presents three reviews of the book, "The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions," by William Bowen and Derek Bok. The book defends affirmative action in college admissions. The first review says that the book presents important data, but it is seriously flawed overall because the authors pursue two very different and conflicting aims in their study. It calls on the authors and the schools studied to make their admissions and other data available to all qualified researchers. The second review examines why despite hundreds of pages of tables and charts, the book provides no good statistical evidence on key causal questions, highlighting why the study is irrelevant for the tough issues of affirmative action and discussing the authors' responses to bias problems and the authors' own biases. The third review agrees with the authors that their sort of data cannot persuade those with fundamental and principled objections to use affirmative action. He says that racial classifications are a bad thing that ought not be institutionalized, and he marvels at the fact that the authors assert that colorblind admissions are unworthy of this country's ideals. (SM)