Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, Specific, Even-handed History
Review: I love this book. I love history also, and cultural anthroplogy. The approach Mr. Ball takes of following his specific family back through the history of the American South makes fascinating, informative reading. It also sheds the light of actual people's lives onto the complex social problem of slavery, how it occurred in the first place, and on human nature. I loved that not all people responded well to his interview approaches, but that so many did. He did not seem apologetic to me at all (as I read in one of the above reviews) but more like he and his family members and former slave families were all on the same side: "How did this happen, and why? And what can we do about it now?" I am a transplant from Virginia, and I felt like his book put words and faces on many vague, subterranean feelings that I've had no place for before. I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, but a Challenging Book to Read
Review: I enjoyed this book a great deal. It helped make me more aware of how intertwined the African-American and White-American communities really are. It also helped be better understand the African-American experience. For me, this book is another step in that process.I have to say, though, that this is a fairly hard book to read. It is written, in my opinion, like a documentary, not a story. So there are a lot of details that you have to wade through. Reading this book felt like walking through molasses. Every step was an effort. Please don't misunderstand me. That style was probably necessary. However, this is not a book you're going to get through on a flight somewhere. Unlike many books today, you're going to have to work some to get the meaning out of this terrific book. The end result is well worth the work.
Rating: 
Summary: Grave Robber
Review: If you want to buy a book from a man who admits to stealing flags from the graves of Civil War soldiers, here he is. This depraved individual actually bragged on the February 14, 2000 NPR 'Morning Edition' show that he stole flags from graves and a Civil War monument.
Rating: 
Summary: Historically impressive story-telling
Review: I would give this book 5 stars for the amount of research and heart that went into it's writing, but only a 3 for it's ability to stand on it's own as a piece of literature. That gives us an average of 4 stars. No doubt, I am envious of Mr. Balls techniques in learning the facts and his entire family for the foresight to document their lives so well. Maybe the latter was due to a feeling of self-importance that seemed typical of some of Mr. Ball's ancestors, but the genealogic consequences are amazing. I learned much from this book and feel that, as a sequence of short-stories it works quite well, which may have been the authors intent. Regardless, this was well worth the effort for me, a person born and raised in the South.
Rating:
Summary: I'm puzzled
Review: I greatly enjoyed this book. Like other reviewers, I admire Mr. Ball's effort to come to terms with the painful past of his own family and of the United States. As a white Canadian, though, perhaps I am missing out on some of the nuances of the debate about this book. Didn't it seem to some readers that Mr. Ball finds it difficult to view African Americans as equals? (e.g. surprised that the snow was shovelled in when visiting a black interview subject?) Didn't it seem that he misread one of the former slaves' seeming devotion to his former master's family? Isn't it possible that a former slave might lie or put on a show of subservience when approaching former masters? Espeically when (as Ball makes clear) the former slave is hitting up the former master for a charitable contribution to the education of black children? Was it necessary to compare the skin colour of almost every African American in the book to wood tones (cheery coloured, mahogoney coloured)? Don't whites have skin tone and colour? Why isn't it ever mentioned? One of the big points I got out of reading this book is that many of us here in the Americas are of mixed racial heritage, whether we are willing to look at it or not. Perhaps race is not really so "black" and "white" when, in fact, many of us are of mixed race heritage. I would be most interested to hear others' views on the points I have raised and, once again, I think Mr. Ball deserves congratulations for writing a book that has obviously got a lot of people thinking (including me).
Rating:
Summary: An elegant and skilled writer tackles a very complex history
Review: From cover to cover, I could not bear to put this book aside. I found Mr. Ball's writing to be clear, concise and very expressive of his obvious sensitivity and humor. The story of the african-americans was heartbreaking, while the tale of the Balls was infuriating. I learned many things about slavery and about the way the system worked. The detail Mr. Ball went into only made the story more fascinating to me. The task he set out to accomplish would have been intimidating to most people; he certainly risked the scorn of the descendants of his family's slaves. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the South and in the roots of our present-day predicament between the races.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and Different
Review: Mr. Ball explored an area that very few attempt to explore in their families. Having visited Charleston recently, gave me a better idea of the area his family's plantations were located. It was very enjoyable to read about the quilt-work of these family members, who are of both African and European descent and how they approach their difficult past with healing.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Well, if you can't tell from the reviews already, you're either going to love this book or hate it. For me, it was a fascinating idea (descendant of former slave owners tracks down descendants of his family's former slaves), with tons of possibilities, but he just didn't pull it off. I didn't mind his meandering, impressionsitic style, but I wasn't sure there was anything behind it all. It just seemed straight deadpan reportage, with little filtering of details to make certain that they would have a real impact (it kind of reminds of a lot of recent documentary films I've seen). I also found him incredibly naive, almost pathetic, in some places - his insistence that his forbears were "good masters," or on finding modern-day Africans whose forebears sold slaves (and who could, thus, share some of the guilt). If you want a good look at what slavery was really all about try John Hope Franklin's recent book about runaways. You'll be hard pressed to find any hint of romanticism there.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinatiing look at "forbidden" topic
Review: I enjoyed this book immensely. Much to my surprise, after reading it I learned from relatives doing geneaology research that one of our ancestors had married into the Ball family, so I feel a connection to them even though our family was Quaker and very definitely anti-slavery. I loved Edward Ball's droll sense of humor about the topic and his description of how his efforts were received in black and white quarters. We need more books like this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange book.
Review: The author is a bit too self-indulgent for a book of general interest. About a fourth of the information would be better saved for a Ball family reunion. Another quarter should not be included at all (like the description Ball gives of the old house he stayed in while visiting Charleston). Still, the point of view IS unique and strangely interesting. I would not try to convince someone to read it any more than I would try to talk someone out of reading it. The best part is the oral history of the Ball slave's descendents.
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