Brothers and Sisters.

There's something real satisfying about reading a book about the black middle class that is not rife with stereotypic putdowns. It's equally rewarding to find a novel about African-Americans in corporate America where the writer has done her homework. Add some great descriptive narrative, humor, racism, sexual harassment, corporate politics and good old buppie angst and you've got Brothers and Sisters, a fictional account of a Los Angeles-based bank operations manager, Esther Jackson.

This is a heartwarming, real-as-life story of a young black woman's mission to build her career and conquer a world that, at best, seems unpenetrable and, at worst, hostile. Through Jackson's eyes, we explore the frustrations of trying to get ahead in an environment where an "I've seen the light" CEO force-feeds affirmative-action and cultural-diversity initiatives to a less-than-willing management team. What makes this book so effective is that it literally serves as a window peering into what happens in the corridors of America's most prestigious workplaces. But that's not surprising, since the book was written by award-winning journalist (and former BLACK ENTERPRISE Washington correspondent) Bebe Moore Campbell.

The dialogue is natural, the situations are not staged. Life at the bank unfolds in its own uncomplicated manner. The white people aren't all bad and the black people aren't all good. Racism isn't the overriding factor governing what happens to the characters, black or white. Ambition, greed, vulnerability and lack of moral fiber fuels sexual harassment, embezzlement and wrongful dismissals. Another interesting observation: The black characters feel like the people we profile in BE--happy to make big corporate bucks, but conflicted about the relationship of the haves and have-nots in the black community.