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Bound for Canaan : The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America | 
 enlarge | Author: Fergus Bordewich
Publisher: Amazon Remainders Account
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $9.68
You Save: $18.27 (65%)
New (7) Used (13) from $6.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 969330
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 560
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.5
ASIN: B000GG4LUI
Publication Date: April 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
An important book of epic scope on America's first racially integrated, religiously inspired movement for change The civil war brought to a climax the country's bitter division. But the beginnings of slavery's denouement can be traced to a courageous band of ordinary Americans, black and white, slave and free, who joined forces to create what would come to be known as the Underground Railroad, a movement that occupies as romantic a place in the nation's imagination as the Lewis and Clark expedition. The true story of the Underground Railroad is much more morally complex and politically divisive than even the myths suggest. Against a backdrop of the country's westward expansion arose a fierce clash of values that was nothing less than a war for the country's soul. Not since the American Revolution had the country engaged in an act of such vast and profound civil disobedience that not only challenged prevailing mores but also subverted federal law. Bound for Canaan tells the stories of men and women like David Ruggles, who invented the black underground in New York City; bold Quakers like Isaac Hopper and Levi Coffin, who risked their lives to build the Underground Railroad; and the inimitable Harriet Tubman. Interweaving thrilling personal stories with the politics of slavery and abolition, Bound for Canaan shows how the Underground Railroad gave birth to this country's first racially integrated, religiously inspired movement for social change.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
A MUST READ FOR ALL AMERICANS May 17, 2008
BOUND FOR CANAAN should be required reading for every American! Every American! This is one of the most important books about our history and who we are and where we came from.
Wonderful book April 18, 2008
Bound for Canaan is a fascinating, engaging, book on the "Underground RR" written from primary sources. It describes in vivid, first hand detail the flight of slaves from the south and the changing attitudes of the northern and southern states on the slave issue from the 1820's to the eve of the civil war. Wonderful book.
Audio version: Fast-paced and fascinating history September 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I listened to the abridged audio version on CD and thoroughly enjoyed it. Read by the author, it is in interesting study that contains a number of riveting stories.
I have two minor complaints about this audio version. One is that the author's voice sometimes drops into a range that can be inaudible if you are listening in a vehicle with traffic noise around you. The other is that maps are not included in the CD set. Fortunately my public library had a copy of the book so that I was able to examine the maps and various illustrations. The maps were of interest to me since a couple of my great-great-grandfathers supposedly sheltered escaped slaves, one near the Ohio River and another in Philadelphia.
Overall, this is an enjoyable and inspiring book that raises questions about civil disobedience that we must ponder in order to understand the complexity of our history. I wholeheartedly recommend the audio version to those who like audiobooks. It is as exciting as an adventure novel, and you can supplement it with a hardcopy if you want.
More than Harriet Tubman January 14, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Harriet Tubman was a great lady, and she did not simply help the slaves to freedom -- she helped move America to a better place. Growing up, whenever I heard or read of the Underground Railroad, Ms. Tubman's name came up again and again. This book expands the vision of the Undergound Railroad and shows it as a part of something much bigger in our history.
First, the book does discuss the railroad and how it works. The reader gets an idea of the perils involved and the logistics behind helping a slave to freedom. This was no easy task, and this books shows the reader not just how brave the conductors were, but how brave the "passengers" were.
Second, the book discusses the fortitude and determination of the different people who tried to make America better by fighting the injustices of slavery. We learn of the battles of the press as well as the battle of the gun. This was a dark time in our history, and the author does a good job in illuminating us to the various people that tried to illuminate their time.
Lastly, the book explains what else happened. In school, we learned that the Underground Railroad helped slaves to freedom. That was about it. There is more to the story, and the author explains this to us. We also see that just getting to the North didn't make things better. There were still things that needed to happen to help the slaves create their new life.
In all, I would highly recommend reading this book. It brings a much more enlightened perspective to this part of American history.
 A Great Book, Could Have Used a Little Editing October 4, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book, which fleshes out for the first time, based on significant new research, the numerous heroes and participants who risked their lives for freedom from slavery. A few insights in the book were new to me:
1. I had no idea how crippling and discriminatory the laws were against blacks who lived in "free states." Most of the time they could not vote, own property, needed affidavits in order to move or get a job, were subject to kidnapping by freelance slave catchers -- it was pretty horrible.
2. I did not realize the critical role that radical, truth-to-power religion, in particular but not exclusively the Quakers, played in ending the evil practice of slavery. These folks risked financial ruin, stonings, beatings, and criminal charges to put in practice their moral view -- based on their faith -- that slavery in all forms must end. They deserve our thanks and praise, and we should remember them as we are faced with current moral conflicts that call out for action based on our beliefs.
3. I found especially interesting the debates in Congress in the 1850s in support of the federal Fugitive Slave Act, and the justifications used by supporters of slavery to denigrate the abolitionists. Indeed, Mr. Bordewich makes the point that even in "free" states, a measure of your worth as a politician was how "tough" you were on abolitionists, in the same sense that today politicians are expected to be "tough" on communism.
But what was interesting to me was that slave supporters like Daniel Webster justified the practice based on the Bible (cherry picking quotes that supposedly support the practice); science (blacks were intellectually inferior and like animals who require our feeding and care); inalienable property rights (the slaves were chattel and were necessary in order for owners to make productive use of their land); and also anti-Europe prejudice (the abolitionists are getting all of their crazy ideas from Europe). These concepts are still being used today to justify social policies that may in the distant future seem equally morally bankrupt.
I did think, however, the book could have used a little editing. I found it a bit difficult to keep up with so many historical figures, and perhaps some of their activities could have been trimmed in the interests of narrative flow.
But in all, a highly readable book and a substantial step forward in terms of historical scholarship.
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