From Midnight to Dawn, Jacqueline L. Tobin
From Midnight to Dawn, Jacqueline L. Tobin
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From Midnight to Dawn
The Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad

Author: Jacqueline L. Tobin, Hettie Jones

Narrator: Richard Allen

Unabridged: 9 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/30/2007


Synopsis

The Underground Railroad was the passage to freedom for many slaves, but it was rife with dangers. While there were dedicated conductors and safe houses, there were also arduous nights in the mountains and days in threatening towns. For those who made it to Midnight, the code name given to Detroit, the Detroit River became their Jordan. And Canada became their "land of Canaan," the Promised Land where they could live freely in various black settlements under the protection of British law. One of these settlements was known as Dawn.

In prose rich in detail and imagery, From Midnight to Dawn presents compelling portraits of the men and women who established the Railroad and the people who traveled it to find new lives in Canada. Some of the figures are well known, like Harriet Tubman and John Brown. But there are equally heroic, less familiar figures here as well, like William Parker, who fought off a group of whites determined to reenslave him. Parker resettled in Canada, learned how to read and write, and recounted his story as a slave narrative.

From Midnight to Dawn evokes the turmoil and controversies of the time, including the furor over the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, congressional confrontations in Washington, and fierce disputes among black settlers in Canada over whether they should ask for money from abolitionists or strive to be self-supporting. An extraordinary examination of a part of American history, From Midnight to Dawn will captivate readers with its tales of hope and courage.


About Jacqueline L. Tobin

Jacqueline L. Tobin is the author of Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad and The Tao of Women. She is on the adjunct faculty at the University of Denver, where she teaches courses in writing and research. She has spent the last fifteen years researching and writing on African American Civil War history and uncovering untold stories.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shonna

This history of the underground railroad concentrated on the movement of blacks from the United States to Canada, particularly into southwestern Ontario. One thing that I really liked about the book was that Tobin looked at the women who played roles in this movement, an aspect often forgotten. Some p......more

Goodreads review by Suzanne

I found this book extremely interesting. The timeline begins at the War of 1812 and continues thru the Civil War and after. It tells the story of tens of thousands of African Americans (especially runaway slaves as they fled to Canada in search of freedom, equality and a better life. this novel redi......more