A review by barnstormingbooks
Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland by Scott Shane

informative slow-paced

3.5

 

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC 

Flee North is a well researched look at the beginnings of the Underground Railroad and at some of the players left out of popular histories of the time. Based heavily in direct source material from publications of the time this is a scholarly look at the early-mid 19th century in Washington and Baltimore. A great supplement for those that have read Four Hundred Souls, The 1619 Project, Stamped from the Beginning and/or How the Word is Passed. 

Shane is a journalist by training, creating a well developed and organized account of the time, supported by remarks, writings, and primary sources. While unimpeachable, the focus on the words of the early 19th century can at times sanitize some of the horrors of the time. 

For those interested I would suggest the print copy, the narrator goes over the top creating voices that start sounding very Foghorn Leghorn…