Black Life on the Mississippi: Slaves, Free Blacks, and the Western Steamboat World

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating read
Review: Buchanan weaves the compelling narratives of slave, free black, and white workers and passengers on Mississippi steamboats with extensive archival information.

He shows how the river network and steamboat work allowed them to craft multiple ways to resist slavery, poor labor conditions, and the separation of families.

This is a history book with broad appeal to non-historians as well.