Overview

"Full of true stories more dramatic than any fiction, The Underground Railroad: A Reference Guide offers a fresh, revealing look at the efforts of hundreds of dedicated persons—white and black, men and women, from all walks of life—to help slave fugitives find freedom in the decades leading up to the Civil War. The Underground Railroad provides the richest portrayal yet of the first large scale act of interracial collaboration in the United States, mapping out the complex network of routes and safe stations that made escape from slavery in the American South possible. Kerry Walters' stirring account ranges from the earliest acts of slave resistance and the rise of the Abolitionist movement, to the establishment of clandestine ""liberty lines"" through the eastern and then-western regions of the Union and ultimately to Canada. Separating fact from legend, Walters draws extensively on first-person accounts of those who made the Railroad work, those who tried to stop it, and those who made the treacherous journey to freedom—including Eliza Harris and Josiah Henson, the real-life ""Eliza"" and ""Uncle Tom"" from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin."

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Reviews

As an explanatory text that describes the Underground Railroad, Walters does an excellent job, creating a flowing and well-written narrative. In reference aspects, it provides a basis for study. * ARBA * This is a moving and, at times, wrenching account of the trials and tribulations of slaves escaping along the Underground Railroad. . . . This book tells the history of this organization in a highly readable style by weaving personal narratives, contemporary newspapr articles, and various laws enacted to keep people in bondage before the civil war. . . . This book would enhance any American History collection. * Library Media Connection * Owing to the decades' worth of material analyzed here, this historical reference work will make a suitable guide and starting point for students and general readers alike. Secondary and other general collections should consider it for purchase. * Library Journal * This book, part of the Guides to Historic Events in America series, brings into perspective what the Underground Railroad did and how it operated. . . . Recommended for school and public libraries. * Booklist *

Author Information

Kerry Walters is the William Bittinger Professor of Philosophy and professor of peace and justice studies at Gettysburg College, USA. He is the author or editor of over 20 books, including Benjamin Franklin and His Gods, Revolutionary Deists: Early America's Rational Infidels, and a critical edition of Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason.

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