The Black experience in the Civil War South /

This fast-paced narrative history contains five brief chapters that mostly highlight enslaved blacks' labor experiences on the plantation, on the Southern warfront, and in Southern cities. While the author's treatment is certainly mindful of wartime dislocations and transformations, he emphasizes continuity rather than change. Ash (Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville) contends that prior to Union military occupation in 1865, the prospect of escaping slavery was dim. Some enslaved blacks sought to escape slavery, but the vast majority (due to family ties, loyalty, or fear of reprisals) went on working for their slave masters as field hands or body servants, or as hirelings in the urban South. In other words, Ash suggests that the institution of slavery remained robust despite the ravages of war and enslaved blacks' desire for freedom. The book's main drawbacks are its brevity (only 127 pages), which hinders the author's ability to provide a more nuanced portrayal of black wartime experiences. In addition, the book lacks a clear purpose statement and thesis. Despite these reservations, this is an ideal primer for a college-level US history survey. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduate collections. K. K. Hill Texas Tech University