Gateway to Freedom

Times, Gerard DeGroot a serious, well-researched book

New York Post A terrific and powerful story.

Huffington Post, Jonah Raskin There's suspense and drama on nearly every page.... It's the art of historical narrative at its very best with individual heroes caught up in the larger sweep of social movements.

Los Angeles Times, Wendy Smith Makes palpable the nuances and complexities of the past.... Intellectually probing and emotionally resonant, "Gateway to Freedom" reminds us that history can be as stirring as the most gripping fiction.

Wall Street Journal, David S. Reynolds Gripping ... excellent.... He merits high praise for contributing solid information and thoughtful analysis to the history of this shadowy, extensive network.

New York Times, Sam Roberts A consummate narrative ... Mandatory and riveting reading.... In 1855, an abolitionist newspaper predicted that 'these acts of sublime heroism ... will excite the admiration, the reverence and the indignation of generations yet to come.' This book finally redeems that faith.

New York Times Book Review, Kevin Baker Illuminating ... Superb ... an invaluable addition to our history.

Eric Foner is DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, and one of the United States' most prominent historians. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the British Academy, he has held visiting professorships at both Oxford and Cambridge universities, as well as at Queen Mary University of London and Moscow State University. His publications include Nothing But Freedom: Emancipation and Its Legacy (1983), the multi-award-winning Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (1988), and The Story of American Freedom (1998). The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery (2010) was awarded, amongst others, both the Bancroft Prize and the Lincoln Prize, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for History.

1. Introduction ; 2. Slavery, Freedom, and Fugitive Slaves in New York City to 1840 ; 3. New York's Two Stations on the Underground Railroad ; 4. The Fugitive Slave Act in New York ; 5. The Record of Fugitives ; 6. And the War Came ; Notes ; Further Reading ; Index