Gene Landrum has expandied his popular "profiles" series to feature 13 special individuals whose extraordinary achievements result from an insatiable internal drive and a demand for excellence despite few inherited advantages. What are the characteristics which brought them creative and entrepreneurial success? Are these characteristics of genius inherited or acquired? Profiles of Black Success focuses on five important factors historical mentors, (e.g., Frederick Douglass or Martin Luther King, Jr.), nature vs. nurture, crisis and creativity, success imprints, and personality making his work contrary to the Bell Curve Theory.

Landrum's examples of the highly talented concentrate on distinctive outlets to realize creative potential: Business Power Berry Gordy, John Johnson, Reginald Lewis; Entertainment Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey; Humanities Maya Angelou, Paul Robeson; Politics Shirley Chisholm, Nelson Mandela, Thurgood Marshall, Colin Powell; and Sports Michael Jordan.