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Rural Women Battering and the Justice System: An Ethnography (SAGE Series on Violence against Women)
Neil Websdale
Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
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Ordeal
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Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
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ASIN: 0761908528
Release Date: 1997-11-11 |
Book Description
Addressing a significant void in the extant literature on the topic of domestic violence,
Rural Woman Battering and the Justice System presents a thorough and arresting look at the experiences of battered women in rural communities. While living in the rural areas of Kentucky, Neil Websdale conducted his ethnographic research, and he situated the voices of rural battered women at the center of his ethnography. He clearly demonstrates how rural patriarchy and the insidious "good ol’ boy network" of law enforcement and local politics sustain and reproduce the subordinate, vulnerable, isolated position of many rural women. Taking into account that traditional patterns of intervention can often put women in isolated communities at further risk, the author recommends a coordinated multiagency approach to rural battering that is spearheaded by state feminist agencies. The chapter on the difficulties of an educated male researcher working with rural battered women offers a definite methodological plus. Illuminating and accessible,
Rural Woman Battering and the Justice System makes a most important and timely contribution to the field.
An excellent training resource for anyone working with battered women, especially in rural areas,
Rural Woman Battering and the Justice System is highly recommended for law enforcement and criminal justice professionals, practitioners, advocates, shelter personnel, and advanced students in related courses of study, as well as academics and researchers.
Average customer rating:
- Avid Reader
- How is it that this kind of junk can get published?
- Author obvisouly has no experience in horse racing!
- Kentucky Sunrise
- Kentucky Sunrise
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Kentucky Sunrise
Fern Michaels
Manufacturer: Zebra
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Kentucky Heat
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Vegas Heat
ASIN: 082177462X |
Customer Reviews:
Avid Reader.......2007-02-24
I enjoyed reading the Kentucky Series and look forward to reading some of the other ones.
How is it that this kind of junk can get published?.......2006-02-06
It seems that all you need today is to have the patience to write a full-length novel - the talent and original ideas come in a poor second and third. This book is horribly written, the plot is cliche, the characters are selfish and hard to relate to, and Ms. Michaels has added the final insult of not researching her topic. She knows nothing about horse racing, horses, or Las Vegas.
I think, besides all of the errors, that the thing that bothered me the most about this book was the stupid names of the characters. Pyne, Birch, Fanny, Willow, Hatch Littletree, even a Monica Lepinsky. This is drivel and should never have been published.
Author obvisouly has no experience in horse racing!.......2004-09-25
I started reading this book way back in August and I've been reading it for over a month and still haven't finished it. This book is trash! A horse just doesn't go to the Derby without prior prep races. They usually have a two year old season and then they have prep races in their three year old season and if they are lucky the horse makes it to the Derby. Another major flaw is that jockeys would NEVER ride their first race in the Derby. Jockeys start out riding at the bottom ranks and work their way up to the bigger stakes races as they improve. I still can't figure out why this author would write on a subject they had no experience.
Kentucky Sunrise.......2004-08-17
UGH! How insulting this book is. If the plot got any more simplistic, I don't think that I could have finished the book. Oh wait, I didn't finish the book. There really was nothing to the few chapters that I did read. Would I recommend it? Not a chance. Generally I like Fern Micheals, but this is a book that should never have been released. Does she think we are all simpletons?
Kentucky Sunrise.......2004-06-17
I LOVE this series!! If you started with the Texas series, instead of this book, which is the last book in the series, I think you will find that these characters have a lot of depth and you become very involved with their lives. Once I started, I could not put these books down!!
Amazon.com
The questions who and what and how and why are no doubt useful and occasionally even noble in their place. But for Wendell Berry, whose spare and elegant prose has long testified to the rural American values of thrift and frugality, four interrogatives must seem a waste, when one will do. Where is the ultimate qualifier, the sine qua non, for both the author and his characters. Place shapes them and defines them; the winding Kentucky River and the gentle curves of the Kentucky hills find an echo in their lilting speech and brusque affections.
Jayber Crow is another story of the Port William membership, the community whose life--and lives--Berry has unfurled over the course of a half dozen novels. Jayber himself is an orphan, lately returned to the town. And his status as barber and bachelor places him simultaneously at its center and on its margins. A born observer, he hears much, watches carefully, and spends 50 years learning its citizens by heart.
They were rememberers, carrying in their living thoughts all the history that such places as Port William ever have. I listened to them with all my ears, and have tried to remember what they said, though from remembering what I remember I know that much is lost. Things went to the grave with them that will never be known again.
Jayber tells the town's stories tenderly. Gently elegiac, the novel charts the tension between an urge to isolation and an impulse to connectivity, writ both small and large. As the 20th century moves inexorably forward, swallowing in great mechanized gulps rural towns governed by agricultural rhythms, Port William turns in upon itself. And as Jayber admits quietly, "Once a fabric is torn, it is apt to keep tearing. It was coming apart. The old integrity had been broken." Integrity, both whole and shattered, is key to the stories of Burley Coulter, Cecelia Overhold, Troy Chatham, and above all, Athey Keith and his daughter Mattie, to whom Jayber pledges his undying and unrequited love.
Berry's prose, so carefully tuned that you never know it is there, carries us into the very heart of the land itself; his exquisitely constructed sentences suggesting the cyclic rhythms of his agrarian world. Jayber Crow resonates with variations played on themes of change, looping transitions from war into peace, winter into spring, browning flood destruction into greening fields, absence into presence, lost into found. --Kelly Flynn
Book Description
Returning once again to the Port William membership, Berry has written his best novel yet, a book certain to confirm his reputation as one of America's finest novelists.
From the simple setting of his own barber shop, Jayber Crow, orphan, seminarian, and native of Port William, recalls his life and the life of his community as it spends itself in the middle of the twentieth century. Surrounded by his friends and neighbors, he is both participant and witness as the community attempts to transcend its own decline. And meanwhile Jayber learns the art of devotion and that a faithful love is its own reward.
Customer Reviews:
Great Read! Couldn't put it down!.......2007-02-07
I'm 45 years old, from Indiana, and a barber's daughter. I'm pretty sure I know some of the people that Jayber talks about. The stories weren't only about what the people were experiencing, but what they were thinking and feeling. My favorite quotes: "I don't get paid to cut hair. I get paid to know when to stop." "He didn't yet know all that he was going to know." AMEN to that!
Possitively Engaging..........2006-06-29
Across the pages of this novel wanders an assortment of remarkably unremarkable people who are somhow winsomely memorable. This is just a beautiful read with a timelessness quality and some simple clues as to how one person made lemonade when life gave him lemons. This is a story of Jayber Crow and a community of people who, together, unceremoniously, weave a life of love and support for each other, just because they are of each other. Wonderful!
Wonderful surprise of a book.......2006-02-19
This is a quiet yet very interesting book. What do I mean by quiet? The stories unfold at a slower pace than a lot of contemporary fiction. But don't misunderstand me -- this is not a boring book. It's really interesting and is filled with suspense and passion. Maybe it's the rural setting that makes me say "quiet." Because several scenes are in the rural outdoors and for me this brings a quietness inside.
The characters are very interesting ... very well defined.
And I like the main character's ongoing commentary about War and Business and their need for each other.
I found it also to be a profoundly sad book -- at least that's how I was affected. My grandparents were farmers and lost their land so I felt very deeply the changes that the Port William farmers went through over the years of this book.
This book has stayed with me. I've thought about it quite a bit since I finished it.
It's the first time I've read anything by Wendell Berry ... just finished it last week. I enjoyed this book so much that I went to the library and got a couple of other Port William novels by him.
A Talisman for the Journey.......2005-12-21
"Jayber Crow" is one of the most unusual and profound novels of this last century. On one level, it is a tale of the unfolding life of Jonah Crow, from his youth into his time of looking back upon the span of his life: it is the story of survival, bravery, acceptance. On this level, Jonah, who becomes Jayber, the barber of his beloved Port William, tells of the people of this town with great tenderness: their strengths and their foolishness (along with his own), and we come to know these townspeople and care for them.
Yet on another level, Jayber Crow is a philosophical reflection on the nature of love, God, time, and eternity. As a religious reflection, Wendell Berry, through Jayber, reaches to the core of our faith when he realizes that the only true prayer is "Thy will be done", a prayer that makes him tremble, but also makes him more of a whole person. Indeed, his reflections on the love of God, and the love that comes forth on this planet, is visionary and has the capacity to enlarge and fortify the heart of the reader. Chapter 23, "The Way of Love," is one of the greatest passages I have read. We see a man aching for love and for God, who some nights "in the midst of this loneliness" swings among "the scattered stars at the end of the thin thread of faith alone." We feel for his struggle and his faith gives us faith.
Concurrent with his longing for God, and his faith, is his love for Mattie. It is the most beautiful and truest portrayl of love I have seen: it is a love that personifies First Corinthians 13. It is a love that wishes only good and finds hope in knowing it has loved: nothing more. It is a love that does not seek for a payback. Again in Chapter 23, Jayber reflects on a true love that breaks the barriers of time, reminiscent of jani johe webster's poem "loving" from "a spider on the wall": "when the skin / on this body / i now call mine / shall become bone / the very bone / shall cry unto your bone / i love you." So it is with Jayber, who writes, "That is why, in marrying one another, we mortals say 'till death.' We must take love to the limit of time, because time cannot limit it. A life cannot limit it. Maybe to have it in your heart all your life in this world, even while it fails here, is to succeed. Maybe that is enough."
Another meaningful comparison between Berry and webster is brought to mind after reading Berry's metaphor of the "the Man in the Well." What happens to a man who, alone for the day in the deep woods, falls into a well? Will he survive? Who is this man in our own lives, and into what wells have we or our loved ones fallen? In webster's prose poem "the weariest river," the narrator's grandmother is locked out of her farm house on a winter's night: again, will she survive, and how? Both metaphors speak to our existential situation, to isolation and to hope.
"Jayber Crow" probes the meaning of life and our relationship to ourseves, to one another, and to God. An amazing comparison is to "Mr. Smith" by Louis Bromfield: the tale of another man, also written in the first person, who struggles with the meaning of life, but with completely different results. Both men recognize the beauty of life and its suffering, and yet the course of each life goes in almost opposite directions.
The image Jayber gives of "the rooms" made by the woods, through sunlight and shadow, is an image that is also a talisman for readers who also seek peace in the midst of life.
Priceless Reading.......2005-12-05
This is a rich and wonderful book about life. This is one book that was so good that I bought multiple copies and gave them to all my children. I have read it again and still have great pleasure in it. Read it and you will see. It made me proud to be a human being.
Book Description
What would legendary Boston Celtics coach and 16-time NBA champion Red Auerbach say is the most critical quality for a person to be successful? Would his advice differ from 10-time NCAA championship coach John Wooden's? What would each say to a young person just starting out in pursuit of their dreams? What is the best advice they were ever given?
It took author Christian Klemash more than two years of research, persistence, and original interviews, but now he's ready to pass on the best advice you'll ever get. Only the rare individual has had the opportunity to pick the brain of just one legendary sports coach—let alone thirty-four of the best sports coaches of all time. Klemash gives sports fans a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn valuable life lessons from the most famous, intelligent, and victorious coaches ever. The legends span the sports world, from gold medal-winning gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi and three-time college football championship coach Tom Osborne to four-time World Series-winning baseball manager Joe Torre and hall-of-fame boxing trainer Angelo Dundee.
These coaches know how to teach top athletes about character and winning, how to manage pressure at crunch time, and how to bring out the best in their players when it matters most. How to Succeed in the Game of Life shares their insights into sports, life, and the most vital keys to sustain success.Featuring Exclusive Interviews with:
Red Auerbach, 16-time NBA World Champion
Bobby Bowden, College Football's All-Time Winningest Coach, 2-time National Champion
Scotty Bowman, 9-time Stanley Cup Champion
Bill Cowher, Super Bowl Champion
Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Champion
Dan Gable, 15-time NCCA Champion
April Heinrichs, Gold Medal Winning Coach of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
Bela Karolyi, The World’s Greatest Gymnastics Coach
Bill Parcells, 2-time Super Bowl Champion
Emanuel Steward, Boxing Trainer of 30 World Champions
Joe Torre, 4-time World Series Champion
Bill Walsh, 3-time Super Bowl Champion
Lenny Wilkens, NBA’s All-Time Winningest Coach, NBA Champion
John Wooden, 10-time NCAA Champion
And More!
Customer Reviews:
A Great Read.......2007-08-26
Wow!Could not put it down.An extraordinay self help book.Gave it to my kids they loved it.Don't miss this one
What a great read!.......2007-07-25
I took it on vacation with me and I couldn't put it down. A great book for aspiring athletes and coaches as well as your average Joe who works 9-5. The coaches discuss a variety of topics from their childhood to how they motivate their players. Any easy read for all ages.
Game of life.......2007-07-24
I've read through Game of Life and I enjoyed it very much. There are so many things to take from this book, not just into sports, but also some reflections on life. I would recommend this book to everybody.
Coaching advise from athletic coaches.......2007-06-27
A fun read, especially if yoiu're a sports fan. I read it in search of things that would help my own ability as a coach in my company. Much of it is light stuff but the easy read makes it fun nonetheless and there are few golden nuggets laced throughout the book.
Overcome Adversity.......2007-04-12
Anyone looking for inspiration, either for their own life or to share with others, will find a gold mine of quotes here. This book isn't just for sports fans.
Average customer rating:
- KENTUCKY SUNRISE
- You have to read the other series to follow this one
- Truly baffled
- Wonderful Writer
- overwhelmingly shallow
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Kentucky Heat
Fern Michaels
Manufacturer: Zebra
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ASIN: 0821773682 |
Customer Reviews:
KENTUCKY SUNRISE.......2007-09-23
I LOVED THIS BOOK AND THIS TRILOGY. WHEN I STARTED THIS LAST ONE, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I LONGER FOR ANOTHER BOOK IN THIS SERIES.
You have to read the other series to follow this one.......2006-04-27
Ok I loved this series and in between books, I read the others to catch up on characters and it made everyone of them fall into place. Texas & Vegas series help you with the characters in the Kentucky series and I thought all of it was good I couldn't put the books done.
Truly baffled.......2006-01-02
I am baffled as to how a book like this gets published. I checked it out of the library because of the title. As a native Kentuckian, I thought it would be a good read. I was sorely disappointed. The writing is juvenile at best. The dialogue is completely absurd and the author repeats everyone's name in the dialogue to the point of distraction. Every time someone speaks, they include the name of the person they are speaking to! The characters also speak in ridiculously long paragraphs. The author must have never had a conversation with a real person because real people simply do not talk this way. And as for the racing industry theme...it is barely touched upon. We see no real interaction between the main character and the horses - nothing of substance. I was hoping for some real insider viewpoint on horses and racing; but, there is none. The characters in general are unbelievable. Almost everyone has an annoyingly weird name and no one makes any mistakes. Their lives are all grand and everyone has spectacular abilities, connections, etc. The plot is told almost completely through the overblown dialogue. Instead of showing us anything about the characters, we are treated to paragraphs long descriptions by another character. Again, people don't talk this way and there is no real story writing in the book. I am certainly glad I wasted only a bit of gas on the way to library on this one. I would have been angry if I spent any money on it.
Wonderful Writer.......2004-04-11
Fern Michaels is the best romance writer I've ever read. For those of you who like romance in a book but don't want to read about the sex details for 5 pages, this is the author for you. Fern Michaels has a way to make her characters come to life. You really feel like you involved in the story by feeling sympathy, happiness and sadness right along with the characters in her stories. The Kentucky series is a must have for any reader who loves a good romance story with a whole lot more.
overwhelmingly shallow.......2003-08-27
When I picked up this book I must admit I was excited to read it as this author was new to me, and I always enjoy getting to know different authors. However, I was tragically disappointed.
I found the book severely lacking in any form of talented writing style, and was baffled throughout the book as to why the 52-year-old main character (Nealy) consistently acted like a squealy teenager ("oh my god! He's so hot."). All writing faux pas aside, I was disgusted by the fact that the book had no semblance of a tangible plot, and the vague one in it was predictable, poorly drawn, confusing, very rushed, and not even remotely interesting. Michaels (the author) tries to make the connection between Nealy and her horses magical but I found it highly unrealistic and inconsistent. She was going way too many places at once with this and failed in each venture.
Overall I found this book starkly juvenile, and were I her publisher/editor I would have handed it to her and suggested she have another go at it. Sadly not worth the read or the money.
Book Description
The world's greatest horse race comes to life in the beautiful pages of this definitive history of the Kentucky Derby.
Take a front row seat at "the Run for the Roses" with the first comprehensive history of the Kentucky Derby. The Derby is one of America's yearly iconic events that is watched by a huge cross section of the County––from the extravagant hat wearers in "Millionaire's Row" to the rowdy campers in the infield to the millions who watch from their living rooms.
This stunning, full–color book is the official reference for the Derby, complete with a comprehensive history of the race, essential facts and statistics, and the gripping stories of dreams won and lost in every Derby since 1875. Relive each exhilarating two minute battle to the finish line as the moments and people who have made the race what it is today are revealed, along with fascinating trivia that every horse lover should know, such as Triple Crown nominees, famous disqualifications, starting post positions of winners, birthplaces, bloodlines, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Good writers are out of work, and this gets published.......2007-07-12
I'll give this two stars for the concrete information it presents, with racing charts, horse statistics and photographs of every winner, even in the early days. But this is one of the most poorly-written books I have ever read; there are times when it seems more like a grade school English assignment than a published reference book.
Sentence structure is frequently awkward, confusing, or hard to follow; comments that the authors seem to find cute are ridiculously infantile (do they really need to describe a poor field as running the "Palookaville Memorial"?); black stablehands are Stepinfetchit cartoon characters; and well-known racing facts are disregarded, replaced with incorrect assumptions.
The individual race recaps are sometimes neat and concise, but more often than not, they ramble into silliness (there's a comment that famous horse thief Pancho Villa, visiting the Derby, never finds out where the winner retired two years later, as if we expected he'd track him down), or miss key information that readers would be more likely to find of interest. Why not mention also-rans that later gained fame, or a horse's effect on the sport, for example? Go to 1930, and you'd never know Gallant Fox won the Triple Crown; go to 1964, and there's no mention of Northern Dancer's breeding legacy. And if you start a drinking game for every time you read the phrases "as it were" or "as they say", you'll be drunk long before you get to Swaps and Nashua - and that famous rivalry isn't even mentioned.
This could have been a triumph of historical data, brought to life with a deft hand; instead, it reads as if two people, with almost no knowledge of the rich history of horse racing, sat down with racing charts and newspaper articles, and tried to make a story of them. Beautifully bound and illustrated, this volume is ultimately a horrible disappointment.
A great book about a great race!.......2007-05-12
If you love the ponies, and if you get caught up in the all day pagentry of the Derby, then this book is a must have. It's history, traditions, human/equine stories and really just a labor of love on the part of the authors for one of the greatest horse races ever. It's a great read, and if you have been watching the Derby for years it will bring back some memories of the people and the horses.
A Great Book for any person that wants to learn about Horse Racing........2007-04-17
This book has everything you would need to know about Horse Racing. It has all the charts of the Horses Family tree, all the charts of the horse that won the Derby. Plus Great Story's of each horse. Its a Wonderful book for who loves horse racing. You can learn on how to bet on a horse, by checking out there family tree. *Note* you can check out Barbaro's Parents family tree a long line of winners.
This Book is a 10 Star.
Chrispy
Average customer rating:
- Quintessential Kentuckiana
|
Kentucky Mint Julep
Joe Nickell
Manufacturer: University Press of Kentucky
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Binding: Hardcover
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Two Minutes to Glory: The Official History of the Kentucky Derby
ASIN: 0813122759 |
Book Description
The ultimate guide to the quintessential Derby drink!
A simple concoction—bourbon, mint, sugar, and water—the mint julep is legendary. Few people know its history and even fewer know how to properly mix this classic cocktail.
Lighthearted, entertaining, and informative, The Kentucky Mint Julep explores the lore and legend of the Kentucky Derby's traditional tipple. Joe Nickell looks at the origins of the julep and the etymology of the word itself, offers a brief history of American whiskey and Kentucky bourbon, and shares some classic julep tales, including Irvin S. Cobb's theory that a disagreement over a julep's ingredients was the real cause of the Civil War.
Information on julep cups, tips on garnishing and serving, and reminiscences from the likes of Charles Dickens, Washington Irving, and General John Hunt Morgan give a fun, historic look at Kentucky's favorite drink. The book includes numerous recipes—for classic juleps, modern variations on the drink, non-alcoholic versions, and the author's own thoroughly researched "perfect" mint julep. This delightful book is illustrated with historic photographs, a map of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Quintessential Kentuckiana.......2007-07-03
This great little book will make a wonderful gift or stocking stuffer for anyone from Kentucky, anyone interested in Kentucky, or anyone who has a keen interest in "adult beverages"! Joe Nickell brings the same method of meticulous research honed in investigating everything from weeping icons, haunted hotels, UFO sightings, and sleight-of-hand hoaxers to this charming and quintessentially Kentuckian drink. Way to go, Colonel Nickell!
Book Description
"Ignorant boys, killing each other," is just about all Nathan Coulter would tell his wife, friends, and family about the Battle of Okinawa in the spring of 1945. Life carried on for the community of Port William, Kentucky, as some boys returned from the war and the lives of others were mourned. In her seventies, Nathan's wife, Hannah, has time now to tell of the years since the war. In Wendell Berry's unforgettable prose, we learn of the Coulter's children, of the Feltners and Branches, and how survivors "live right on."
Customer Reviews:
Like a novelized poem.......2007-07-17
I don't always agree with Berry. Sometimes I agree with his dianoses but wonder what practical solution there is for the problems he notices. But one thing I must say is that he is able to beautifully capture the pathos and wonder of human community. Quite simply this is a beautiful meditation on life and relationship. If you do not come away longing for or at least pondering community and what it means you may want to check you pulse. His descriptions of married life are sublime.
A few random questions I have as I read the Port William novels:
-What would happen if an Italian immigrant moved to Port William? Would they be welcome?
-What is evil? Would you ever want to just kick someone out because they were so bad?
-Should I just let the effect of the novel wash over me or should I respond to a larger message?
review of Hannah Coulter.......2007-06-26
Wendell Berry is one of the finest, most thoughtful writers in America today. I count on every one of his books -- novels, short stories, essays, and poetry -- to be thought provoking and superbly written. "Hannah Coulter" was absolutely up to his high standard.
Prose as poetry.......2007-05-18
Wendell Berry is a wonderful writer. Due to his training as a poet, his prose often reads like poetry with every word in its proper place. "Hannah Coulter" is a soft-spoken narrative of the life of a small village woman who loves the land and people that she is so close to. It is a novel about change from life before WWII to life after WWII. Berry has captured it well. He points out that not all the change has been beneficial.
What seems to be an agrarian literary work has universality, because everyone is touched by love, grief and death the way Hannah was touched, whether he lives on Fifth Avenue in New York City or on Elm Street in Port William, Kentucky.
It is a gentle book of deep meaning for people who realize they are living in a hectic age, without the roots they lost among the years. Less introspective readers will simply wonder what the author was smoking.
Too much love?.......2007-04-30
This is my first Wendell Berry novel, and I've been told that perhaps this is not the right place to start. I can agree with the other reviewers that his writing acheives the tone of ths spoken word, and often I simply forgot that I was reading and instead seemed to be listening to the narrator. On the other hand, reading the book is a little like listening to someone blissed-out on prozac. There is simply too much love and when there is hardship (especially with respect to her relationship with her children), it is dismissed with a rather cold acknowledgment that sometimes life is hard. I enjoyed the book but it lacked a certain tension that really grips the attention.
I am speechless!.......2007-02-19
What can I say that other reviews have not already said so beautifully? This precious book touched my heart in many many ways. I will never forget Hannah and her family and the people that touched her life. This author has a way with words that I have not seen in the hundreds of other books that I have read. I can't wait to read more & just hope that they can come close to the beauty of this book.
Book Description
It was the day before Independence Day, 1831. As his bride, Lucie, was about to be “sold down the river” to the slave markets of New Orleans, young Thornton Blackburn planned a daring—and successful—daylight escape from Louisville. But they were discovered by slave catchers in Michigan and slated to return to Kentucky in chains, until the black community rallied to their cause. The Blackburn Riot of 1833 was the first racial uprising in Detroit history.
The couple was spirited across the river to Canada, but their safety proved illusory. In June 1833, Michigan’s governor demanded their extradition. The Blackburn case was the first serious legal dispute between Canada and the United States regarding the Underground Railroad. The impassioned defense of the Blackburns by Canada’s lieutenant governor set precedents for all future fugitive-slave cases.
The Blackburns settled in Toronto and founded the city’s first taxi business. But they never forgot the millions who still suffered in slavery. Working with prominent abolitionists, Thornton and Lucie made their home a haven for runaways. The Blackburns died in the 1890s, and their fascinating tale was lost to history. Lost, that is, until a chance archaeological discovery in a downtown Toronto school yard brought the story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn again to light.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read!.......2007-08-26
One would have to read this book several times to completely absorb its multifarious layers, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
First and foremost, it is the compelling life story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn. They escaped from slavery boldly using forged documents to travel by steamboat to Cincinnati (appropriately arriving on July 4) then settled in Detroit and were subsequently incarcerated under the Fugitive Slave Law. The community (white and black) rose up in their defense, sparking what history records as "The Blackburn Riots of 1833." After their hair raising escape to Canada and subsequent incarceration while appealing extradition under provisions of the Fugitive Offenders Act, they finally settled in Toronto, where Blackburn established the first cab company. The couple acquired affluence and influence - though they always lived modestly - and assisted many other refugees escaping slavery and intolerance before, during and after the Civil War.
Equally fascinating is the process by which their life story was reconstructed. Both Thornton and Lucie remained illiterate, and no one recorded their memoirs. This book is the result of over 20 years of painstaking research and - as the author states in the introduction - no small amount of "historical coalescence." It perfectly illustrates the creative approach historians must take when attempting to break through what genealogists call "The Wall of Slavery." The author relies on everything from Bibles to court documents to glean information and put all the pieces together, and her extensive bibliography alone is worth the price of the book.
While detailing the Blackburn's encounters with the legal system of the time, the author explores the evolution of jurisprudence in both countries: to maintain the Peculiar Institution in the states, and to guarantee civil liberties (and in no small part, autonomy from the U.S.) in Canada. Some slave owners doggedly expended inordinate amounts of time and money to retrieve their "property" and to punish anyone who might have aided their escape. Consequently, there are voluminous court documents related to the Blackburns as their owners pursued them here and abroad, and legal precedents were set which still have impact today. For example, people are often surprised to learn the Ohio River is actually part of Kentucky - that boundary was established to ensure this particular "highway to freedom" remained "slave territory" and this decision was relevant in the lawsuit filed against the steamboat captain and his company.
For American readers, the fact that this book is written from a Canadian's perspective adds yet another interesting layer. (Oh, to see ourselves as others see us!) Yet while pointing out the obvious hypocrisy inherent in U.S. "freedom," Frost does not turn a blind eye to racism and hypocrisy among Canadians. She notes that while Toronto harbored fugitive slaves, it also welcomed slaveholders and Confederate soldiers seeking asylum during the Civil War. Doubly mind boggling is the fact that the Blackburns had personal connections with some of them...and a few of them probably rode in his cab.
In the standard American narrative, slaves escape to Canada and vanish from our story. While many - heartened by the promise of Reconstruction - returned to the United States to reunite with family after the war (only to migrate north again as Jim Crow and sharecropping reinstated the antebellum power structure) the Blackburns lived three-quarters of their highly productive lives as African-Canadians. This book and the work which went into creating it are welcome revelations. I hope they inspire further research into the lives of those who crossed over into Canaan Land.
NB The book describes the role played by the Blackburns in the development of the Elgin Settlement and Buxton Mission, a colony for fugitive slaves south of Chatham. The modern village of North Buxton is still home to about 200 descendants. Several years ago I visited the Buxton Historic Site and Museum and highly recommend it...plan to spend several hours! BuxtonMuseum dot com
An absorbing story.......2007-08-13
Canada's role relative to slavery in the United States - little-known by Americans - is excellently told through the life story of a couple born in slavery. The Blackburns' escape from slavery calls out for dramatization in a movie or at least on PBS' "American Experience." It would also make a fine children's book.
A Kentucky-Canada Story.......2007-05-11
I cannot overstate the importance of this book. It is a moving, heart-wrenching story. Additionally the Kentucky material was of particular interest to me since my own ancestors were in Mason COunty, KY for a good portion of the story of Thornton Blackburn. I have not finished reading it as of this writing.
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