Each chapter in this amazing book is its own true story of a life. Some stories like Harriet Tubman's we've heard before - but in this book her journeys get fleshed out with full, rich details. (And I felt like I was on the journey by mail with Henry "Box" Brown.) Some stories - like the Oberlin riots, were totally new to me! Taking up two chapters towards the end of the book this is the story of how a whole town riots to save a former slave. Our runaway slave makes it to Oberlin, Ohio where he lives and works peacefully for several years until slave catchers track him down and find him. He and a friend are kidnapped and held in a hotel in a neighboring town. Well, when the townspeople of Oberlin find out their reaction is totally amazing. Professors cancel classes, storekeepers close up shop - the ENTIRE town of Oberlin marches to the hotel where the former slaves are being held and surround it! The slave catchers, fearing for their lives, escape and our heroes are freed again!
There are so many inspiring stories like the Oberlin Riot - most end happily, a few do not but they are all tributes to the capacity of the human spirit.
To sum up: Fascinating true stories told in an engaging and riveting manner with a bonus that many of the stories end right here in Philadelphia due to the hard work of a former slave and abolitionist William Still!
