Be Free or Die
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By the 1890s, Wilmington was North Carolina’s largest city and a shining example of a mixed-race community. It was a bustling port city with a burgeoning African American middle class and a Fusionist government of Republicans and Populists that included black aldermen, police officers, and magistrates. There were successful black-owned businesses and an African American newspaper, The Record. But across the state - and the South - white supremacist Democrats were working to reverse the advances made by former slaves and their progeny.
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5 out of 5 stars
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readable, well-researched history of the bloody rise of Jim Crow
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Yeager
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General Chuck Yeager was the greatest test pilot of them all - the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound...the World War II flying ace who shot down a Messerschmitt jet with a prop-driven P-51 Mustang...the hero who defined a certain quality that all hotshot fly-boys of the postwar era aimed to achieve: the right stuff. Now Chuck Yeager tells his whole incredible life story with the same "wide-open, full throttle" approach that has marked his astonishing career.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Just an Amazing Life
- By John on 05-08-20
Publisher's Summary
Facing death rather than enslavement - a story of one man's triumphant choice and ultimate rise to national hero.
It was a mild May morning in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1862, the second year of the Civil War, when a 23-year-old slave named Robert Smalls did the unthinkable and boldly seized a Confederate steamer. With his wife and two young children hidden on board, Smalls and a small crew ran a gauntlet of heavily armed fortifications in Charleston Harbor and delivered the valuable vessel and the massive guns it carried to nearby Union forces.
To be unsuccessful was a death sentence for all. Smalls' courageous and ingenious act freed him and his family from slavery and immediately made him a Union hero while simultaneously challenging much of the country's view of what African-Americans were willing to do to gain their freedom.
After his escape, Smalls served in numerous naval campaigns off Charleston as a civilian boat pilot and eventually became the first black captain of an Army ship. In a particularly poignant moment Smalls even bought the home that he and his mother had once served in as house slaves.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Evan
- 02-19-18
Great Book about a Great man
I live in Beaufort so I'm partial to stories about our history. And no man of Beaufort was as great of a mam as the Honorable Robert Smalls. This book should be adapted into a screenplay and made into a movie.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wendy
- 05-06-19
My favorite Civil War hero
I only discovered Robert Smalls a couple years ago on my favorite history podcast and was blown away by him. Also blown away by the fact that I’d never heard of him. Why is he not in our schools’ history textbooks, and why are there not statues of him in South Carolina now!? This book did him justice - I really enjoyed it.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-09-18
Wow!
What an amazing person, I can't believe I never heard of him before, truly inspiring.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vince
- 02-26-19
very good book
outstanding take on history about a person who lived the true meaning of free man and dedication to service of his country
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- B. Hannon
- 02-28-20
Extremely well done!
This book not only does an excellent job of recounting Robert Smalls extraordinary life, pursuit of freedom and contributions to this country, it also gives the reader a feel for the complex climate of the times by examining the political policies and players involved that lead to and followed the failed rebellious coup of the Confederacy.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M. D.
- 01-20-20
Must read. fascinating history
I've wanted to read about Robert Smalls for a long time. this book did not disappoint. This is important, fascinating history that all Americans should read.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robyn Millar
- 10-24-19
Introduced to someone...
My family and I were introduced to someone we did not know about. An American Hero that needs to be known by more.
1 person found this helpful