Pretty sure you forgot we are talking about homicides here , not suicides . They are different words for a reason . <| sep |> I ' m actually somewhat hopeful . I just went over the stats and they look really good on the defensive end . Top ten in rebounding . Top ten in blocks per game . Our big men are mostly doing what we ask of them . However on the offensive end we are close to if not last in most categories . We are just a really good offensive player away from being a good team . <| sep |> Check out Eric Foner ' s Reconstruction America ' s Unfinished Revolution . It is the stndard work on the subject . Its pretty long however , but Foner released an abridged edition . He takes the view that Reconstruction actually had a lot of positive elements to it unlike many historians since that time , who have viewed it as a complete failure .