{"product_id":"the-road-was-full-of-thorns-running-toward-freedom-in-the-american-civil-war","title":"The Road Was Full of Thorns: Running Toward Freedom in the American Civil War","description":"\u003cp\u003eby Tom Zoellner\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNew Press\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9\/30\/2025, hardcover\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSKU: 9798893850086\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA radical retelling of the drama of emancipation, from \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the opening days of the Civil War, three enslaved men approached the gates of Fort Monroe, a U.S. military installation in Virginia. In a snap decision, the fort's commander \"confiscated\" them as contraband of war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom then on, wherever the U.S. Army traveled, torrents of runaways rushed to secure their own freedom, a mass movement of 800,000 people--a fifth of the enslaved population of the South--that set the institution of slavery on a path to destruction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn an engrossing work of narrative history, critically acclaimed historian Tom Zoellner introduces an unforgettable cast of characters whose stories will transform our popular understanding of how slavery ended. \u003cem\u003eThe Road Was Full of Thorns\u003c\/em\u003e shows what emancipation looked and felt like for the people who made the desperate flight across dangerous territory: the taste of mud in the mouth, the terror of the slave patrols, and the fateful crossing into Union lines. Zoellner also reveals how the least powerful Americans changed the politics of war--forcing President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and opening the door to universal Black citizenship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor readers of \u003cem\u003eThe 1619 Project\u003c\/em\u003e--and anyone interested in the Civil War--\u003cem\u003eThe Road Was Full of Thorns\u003c\/em\u003e is destined to reshape how we think about the story of American freedom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This powerful and inspiring book reveals the pivotal role contraband camps played in the dismantling of slavery. Through gripping narratives, it highlights the bravery and determination of African Americans who took bold steps toward freedom and self-governance--bringing the nation closer to its founding ideals.\" -- Marjoleine Kars, author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/blood-on-the-river-a-chronicle-of-mutiny-and-freedom-on-the-wild-coast\" title=\"Blood on the River\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBlood on the River: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom on the Wild Coast\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, winner of the 2021 Cundhill History Prize and co-winner of the 2021 Frederick Douglass Prize\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A vital, illuminating, and beautifully written book that affirms that Black people freed themselves. While American public memory often valorizes Abraham Lincoln or other political leaders in the fight for emancipation, Tom Zoellner places African Americans at the center of the narrative to show how they were the architects of their own destiny.\" \u003cbr\u003e-- Keisha N. Blain, co-editor of the #1 \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestseller \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/four-hundred-souls-a-community-history-of-african-america-1619-2019\" title=\"Four Hundred Souls\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFour Hundred Souls\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTom Zoellner \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of nine nonfiction books, including \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/island-on-fire-the-revolt-that-ended-slavery-in-the-british-empire\" title=\"Island on Fire\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eIsland on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for the best nonfiction book of 2020. He works as a professor at Chapman University and as an editor-at-large for the \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e. He lives in Los Angeles.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Burning Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52473470484763,"sku":"Road Was Full of Thorns","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0466\/5121\/files\/81jyUBzvtkL._SL1500.jpg?v=1783374467","url":"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/the-road-was-full-of-thorns-running-toward-freedom-in-the-american-civil-war","provider":"Burning Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}