mohawkm's review
3.75
The great parts of this book are the sharing of the original story: an enslaved married couple who vow not to have children born into slavery and come up with a transgressive and dangerous plan to escape to the North, and giving context about their path after reaching the North. The lesser parts are how it feels very padded with historical context of the time to reach a specific length of book, when it could have been a slimmer volume that packed more of the original story's punch through the pages.
ferris_mx's review
4.0
A daring escape - and a shocking and useful recollection of how slavery may have been restricted to the south, but racism and discrimination were nationwide and worldwide. The gall and entitlement of the southerners pursuing their "property" in the north and overseas is sickening. The additional colorism and sexism is the icing on the cake.
jbmorgan86's review
4.0
I heard about “Master Slave Husband Wife” on the GPB Podcast, “Narrative Edge.” I was surprised that as a U.S. History teacher and Georgia native that I had never heard the story of the Crafts.
In short, the story is basically this: a light skinned enslaved woman dresses up as an ill, white slave master, and her husband pretends to be her/his slave. They hide in plain sight as they take trains and ships from Macon, GA to Philadelphia, PA.
The actual getaway part of the story felt like a non-fiction thriller. However, this was only about the 1/3 of the book. The other 2/3 was a pretty dry treatment of the political context of the story. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of difficult to get through. However, I’m glad I did and think the book, overall, was worth the effort.
In short, the story is basically this: a light skinned enslaved woman dresses up as an ill, white slave master, and her husband pretends to be her/his slave. They hide in plain sight as they take trains and ships from Macon, GA to Philadelphia, PA.
The actual getaway part of the story felt like a non-fiction thriller. However, this was only about the 1/3 of the book. The other 2/3 was a pretty dry treatment of the political context of the story. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of difficult to get through. However, I’m glad I did and think the book, overall, was worth the effort.
hjoyner12's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.75
Slow paced but informative on a variety of topics.
anothernicole's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.5
The first half of the book is incredibly fast-paced, but the second is much (much) slower.
rosalind_barden's review
5.0
“Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom” by Ilyon Woo is a compelling and heart-wrenching true story of Ellen and William Craft’s escape from slavery in the pre-Civil War Southern US. The daring journey of this couple is nail-biting. Ellen is disguised as a young white Southern man of wealth, and William, as his enslaved servant. If their ruse is discovered, the punishment will be severe, and their hope of freedom, gone. But freedom in the North is tenuous too. They face the danger of recapture and violence from mobs as they travel the lecture circuit to spread the word on the horrors of slavery and their near-impossible escape. The tinderbox political climate is eerily similar to today’s. This book is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand this terrifying chapter in American history, and its impacts that continue to the present day. I listened to the Audible Audiobook version, which is given an exceptional narration by Janina Edwards and Leon Nixon.
hillarycopsey's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating and important story.
I would recommend picking up a text edition if you can though. Much as I love Janina Edwards' narration, the male narrator nearly ruined this for me. His cadence and delivery were too slow and halting -- totally personal preference, but I genuinely had to power/speed through his sections.
I would recommend picking up a text edition if you can though. Much as I love Janina Edwards' narration, the male narrator nearly ruined this for me. His cadence and delivery were too slow and halting -- totally personal preference, but I genuinely had to power/speed through his sections.