Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad [Paperback]

Illuminating . . . an invaluable addition to our history.Mandatory, and riveting, reading.[A] detailed narrative . . . infused with the spirit of freedom.Excellent . . . Mr. Foner, bringing to bear his well-honed research skills and his deep knowledge of slavery and race relations . . . vividly describes the key part that New York City played in the operations of the Underground Railroad . . . he merits high praise for contributing sold information and thoughtful analysis to the history of this shadowy, extensive network.Riveting . . . a visceral chronicle of defiance and sacrifice.Bring[s] to bear the insights of a long and distinguished career writing about the Civil War and Reconstruction eras and a sharp sense of the ironies that involuntary servitude posed for a nation that proclaimed itself to be built on principles of liberty . . . highly readable.A terrific and powerful story.Dramatic and compelling.Suspense and drama on nearly every page. . . . The art of historical narrative at its very best.Eric Foner has won a place in the front rank of American historians with books that seem to vacuum up all available sources to produce bold new interpretations of the countrys reckoning with the big questions of slavery and freedom.Reminds us that history can be as stirring as the most gripping fiction.Tells a story that will surprise most readers . . . Compelling.[Foner] carries the reader along, as if galloping through a valley of subterfuge and salvation that might also doom freedom at any time. Foner crucially delineates the profound challenge and existential risk that engulfed an interracial generation as the nation thundered toward dissolution, or Civil War.Compelling . . . by turns scholarly and gripping.The dramatic story of fugitive slaves and the antislaveryactivists who defied the law to help them reach freedom.