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A survey of Underground Railroad geography, this compendium presents slavery history from Florida to Montreal. Alphabetical and topical lists of entries and lists of illustrations, maps, and sidebars are followed by a time line predating the American Revolution and covering 123 years of abolitionist civil disobedience. All but a few of the nearly 80 entries are for places, with the focus on main corridors in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and New York. Examples include Albany, New York; Southeastern Pennsylvania; and Washington Courthouse, Ohio. Sidebars discuss topics such as the Great Dismal Swamp, the Oneida Institute, the suspension bridge at Niagara Falls, and the activism of Jacob Bigelow, William I. Bowditch, Samuel G. Wright, and others. For researchers, historians, and travelers interested in investigating places and structures, the entries offer anecdotes and events to pique curiosity. Following the entries, a bibliography is organized into such specific categories a. Biographie. an. Slave Narratives. A meticulous index lists people, cities, historical events and court cases, antislavery organizations, and religious groups. On the downside, coverage barely touches on Great Lakes and Caribbean routes and exclude. Bleeding Kansas. Also missing from the lineup is a balanced view of women's roles as agents. Although this work lacks the drama of more detailed accounts, it is recommended as a complement to other resources on the topic, such as The Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations (Sharpe, 2008). Also available as an e-book.--Snodgrass, Mary Elle. Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Calarco (People of the Underground Railroad), writing with Vogel (Civil War Women) and others, offers a comprehensive guide to sites historically essential to the liberation of fugitive slaves during the antebellum period. Organized alphabetically by city name, the entries run several pages in length and include subsegments that detail specific structures, significant incidents, and individuals essential to slave movement. Grayscale photographs feature stations as they appear today, while sidebars offer vital glimpses of safe passage logistics, including transcriptions of coded correspondence between station families and other abolitionists. Each entry closes with a full bibliography highlighting at least four further reading sources. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.