Gr. 5^-8. From Florida's Fort Mose, established by fugitive slaves in 1732, to discoveries made within the past few years, the authors examine the origins and development of the Underground Railroad, with a special focus on the varieties and limitations of historical evidence. They clearly establish that evidence about the railroad is scanty or circumstantial, pointing to thermal scans of suspected sites, the discovery of a hidden closet in an old Brooklyn house, spirituals, legal claims, and family anecdotes. Of course, they also consider narratives of escaped slaves and oral history gathered by WPA workers, cautioning against the uncritical use of such evidence. Showing how facts and inferences from all of these sources can be combined to create a general picture, they conclude that the Underground Railroad was probably a multitude of individual initiatives rather than a unified, systematic organization. Maps, sidebars, contemporary documents, and a scene-setting painting at each chapter's head add both information and atmosphere. Valuable as much for its approach as for its specific topic. Readers wanting more will welcome the closing multimedia resource list. --John Peters

(Intermediate, Middle School) The team that produced the Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winning Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground (rev. 7/98) turn their attention to the Underground Railroad, a more elusive subject about which ""it is difficult to separate fact from fiction."" Hansen and McGowan begin their narrative by examining pre-Revolutionary War efforts by enslaved Africans to escape their bondage, giving some historical context to an ongoing resistance to slavery, and they explore topics such as changes in laws governing free blacks and fugitive slaves. The authors recount several escape stories, both familiar and lesser known (such as that of Harriet Powell, a young woman who escaped while her Southern owners were visiting Syracuse, New York). A particular strength of the book is the discussion of the increased role of archaeology to both support and question longstanding legends surrounding the Underground Railroad. The authors describe archaeological digs at sites in New York and Canada that provide a much clearer picture of what actually occurred at some of the ""stations"" on the Railroad, and readers get a step-by-step view of how researchers investigated sculptures in a New York church basement to determine if they had been created by fugitive slaves. The authors conclude with a discussion of what remains to be learned about the Underground Railroad and possible areas for exploration. The straightforward narrative is highly readable, and its unsolved-mystery aspects will engage young readers. Source notes and suggestions for additional reading and study are helpful additions. Index. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

The Underground Railroad and one woman's fight for equality are the subjects of two nonfiction volumes. Joyce Hansen and Gary McGowan explore the ways historians have traced the path of the enslaved as they traveled northward to freedom in Freedom Roads: Searching for the Underground Railroad. Opening with archeologists' discovery of Fort Mose, "the first settlement of freed men and women in America," the authors demonstrate how the study of artifacts, laws, slave narratives and more contribute to an understanding of how this crucial chapter of American history evolved. Reproductions of period photographs and documents extend the value of this well-researched volume, and James Ransome's half-tone watercolor paintings open each chapter. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Silent stone faces on a tunnel wall in Syracuse. Ruins of the first settlement of freed men and women discovered under a saltwater marsh in Florida. Family stories leading archaeologists to an upstairs room in a Brooklyn house, where slaves were hidden. These and other archaeological sites are examined in this study of the Underground Railroad. In addition, WPA slave narratives, spirituals, quilts, a ship's logs, diaries, eyewitness accounts, and letters all demonstrate the ways historians learn about the past--from old-fashioned studies of 17th-century church records to the space-age technology of thermal imaging. An important point made here is that the Underground Railroad was not, as often portrayed, an organized network of routes delivering escaping slaves directly to freedom in the North. There were many "freedom roads" and many people with the courage to break the law and put their lives at risk in the name of liberty and democracy. The authors portray historians as detectives, solving mysteries when history keeps a secret, and point out that this is a "living" history, "waiting for a new generation of historians, archaeologists, and researchers to continue to tell this fascinating story." Discussions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, John Brown, and the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law provide additional historical context. Well-written, well-documented, imaginatively arranged, this is a fascinating offering. Handsomely organized with ten black-and-white illustrations, maps, sidebars, photographs, and other archival material, this covers much ground while saying a great deal about the historian's craft. An important addition to library collections and classroom units. (foreword, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 5-9-Noted author Hansen teams with historical conservator McGowan to document the history of the Underground Railroad. They explain that this subject is particularly hard to research because of the necessary secrecy that surrounded the operation of the network, and they attempt to tie varied sources together to substantiate the legends that have sprung up about it. The archaeological evidence is examined, from the site of a slave settlement in Florida to the Lott House in Brooklyn, a "station" on the network. Also examined are firsthand accounts, collected through a WPA project in the 1930s; the historical records found in courts and legislative acts; and the records that have come down to us in the form of spirituals. The explanation of the process of reconstructing the past through these sources is clearly presented. The authors never oversimplify; they use sophisticated language to explain complex issues, but do so in an accessible manner. The inclusion of many historical documents is noteworthy; the breadth of excerpts adds greatly to the value of the work. The black-and-white illustrations, reproductions, and photos add tremendously to the text; the in-depth notes on sources used and the bibliography are also valuable. This work is a fine asset to any study of the Underground Railroad.-Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.