Anonymous
Posted May 17, 2008
Freedom Road is an intersting and eye-opening book from start to finish. It really gives the reader an idea of what life was like for freedpeople in post-Civil War southern society. A book that was definitely hard to put down once I began reading, and is excellant material for a Civil War and Reconstruction class!
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Posted May 13, 2008
Freedom Road is a great story full of emotion and experience from post-Civil War society. Fast explores the experience of the black community immediately following the end of the War. A refreshing stray from the usual history book, Freedom Road is great for the classroom. It provides students with several perspectives from different characters of the story. It also allows for students to question Fast¿s view of Reconstruction and whether they believe the story or have another one envisioned. This book is a quick and enjoyable read and a good source in the class.
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Posted May 9, 2008
Freedom Road by Eric Foner is an American classic that deserves more attention. I had not heard of this book before my Civil War and Reconstruction class. Foner documets the harsh realities of the Reconstruction South through the story of the fictional Gideon Jackson. This book is important becuase it features an African American hero less than a decade after the publication of 'Gone With the Wind.' The book does have some faults, the writing style is dated and the protrail of women could have been better. But those are products of the time in which it was written.
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Posted April 28, 2008
If you are interested in history than Freedom Road was a book that was easy to read and you never wanted to put it down. While the characters were fictional in this piece, it was evident that many represented actual freedmen trying to find their place in the aftermath of the Civil War. Personally, I was able to connect to the characters and care when something happened to them. This was something I never really got from any other book I read in my history classes. Without giving away the ending, this book seemed accurate from start to ending keeping in mind that it was fictional. I believe this book was extraordinary for its time. It was published in the 1940's and during that time nothing showed the extent of what the Ku Klux Klan really represented, nor the struggle of the newly freed slaves. During that time this information was not focused on, except for in this book. As a student it was nice to be able to read a book that was a story, rather than a text book. As a professor I would recommend this book, but it would the least necessary text. It would be the hardest to use as a source in an essay because it can be argued that it is fiction and that accurate sources must be used. Through this book I was able to determine what freedom and equality meant for African Americans during Reconstruction. My one criticism is that this book could have depicted gender roles differently. It would have been nice to focus in on how the women contributed to Reconstruction efforts. This book was entertaining to read, and I was able to learn about Reconstruction by reading it.
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