{"product_id":"the-road-was-full-of-thorns-running-toward-freedom-in-the-american-civil-war-9798893850086","title":"The Road Was Full of Thorns: Running Toward Freedom in the American Civil War","description":"\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\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Zoellner is a beautiful writer, a superb reporter, and a deep thinker.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e--\u003cem\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e on \u003cem\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe National Road\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\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 \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \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 \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \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 \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/30\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798893850086\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.60h x 5.40w x 1.10d","brand":"Tom Zoellner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51474290999477,"sku":"9798893850086","price":29.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_c69ff1f4-a7cd-4243-ae30-90c4b0784909.jpg?v=1754405597","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-road-was-full-of-thorns-running-toward-freedom-in-the-american-civil-war-9798893850086","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}