Truevine

Reviews / Votes

What makes her account compelling, however, is the history it offers of the lives black people had to endure in the decades following slavery, a history that seems all the more poignant in the aftermath of last year's Black Lives Matter debates ... [An] extraordinary tale of courage and grace John Burnside, Spectator -- John Burnside * Spectator * Jaw-dropping * Glasgow Herald * Pitiless about life in the Jim Crow South where, even in the 1920s, thousands of black Americans, some for crimes as trivial as hopping a train, were sold into labour camps and sent down slave mines ... It is quite some story, and Macy has told it skilfully, vividly, compassionately -- Sukhdev Sandhu * Guardian * Compelling * Observer * Macy is a gifted storyteller and a dogged researcher and readers will be riveted by Harriet Muse's struggle to find her sons. * New York Times * A sturdy, passionate, and penetrating narrative. This first-rate journey into human trafficking, slavery, and familial bonding is an engrossing example of spirited, determined reportage * Kirkus * "It's the best story in town," a colleague told Beth Macy decades ago, "but no one has been able to get it." She now has, with tenacity and sensitivity. She gives a singular sideshow its due, offering these "Ambassadors from Mars" a remarkable, deeply affecting afterlife. -- Stacy Schiff As compelling as Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks . . . both are absolutely stunning examples of narrative nonfiction at its best . . . Certain to be among the most memorable books of the year. -- Connie Fletcher * Booklist *