A Slave No More

A Slave No More
David W. Blight
Harcourt
ISBN: 9780151012329
Non-Fiction, Narrative History
Reviewed by John R. Clark

What a pleasant surprise this book turned out to be. I was a history major in college and have been long accustomed to scholarly works starting with great promise, only to be set aside part way through because they were too dry or got bogged down in excess detail. David Blight has avoided both traps in this book, while providing endless bits of enlightenment. I was, for example, completely unaware of the narrowness and racism of President Lincoln's views toward slavery.
The book weaves a highly readable tale from the personal narratives of Wallace Turnage and John Washington, who were eight years apart in age and quite well educated for their time and situation. The author blends direct bits from these stories of escape with educated supposition and retrospective analysis. The result reads like a good novel, while continually tossing insights and facts at the reader. I was astounded to learn that at one point, the value of American slaves was the largest single asset in the nation. If you want to boggle your mind, try to put that in contemporary terms.
This will be an excellent addition to the library and would be a worthwhile addition to any library, but particularly for schools. In addition, I would recommend this as a great holiday gift for curious teens who like to dig out the untold parts of their nation's history.