Forbidden Fruit is a collection of fascinating; largely untold tales of ordinary men and women who faced mobs; bloodhounds; bounty hunters; and bullets to be together -- and defy a system that categorized blacks not only as servants; but as property. Here you'll meet; among other extraordinary characters; a fugitive slave from Virginia who spends seventeen years searching for his wife. A Georgia slave couple that sails for England with federal troops trailing behind. A white woman who falls in love with her deceased husband's slave. A young slave girl who is delivered to her fiancé inside a wooden chest. Acclaimed journalist Betty DeRamus gleaned these anecdotes from descendants of runaway slave couples; unpublished memoirs; Civil War records; census data; magazines; and dozens of previously untapped sources. This is a book about people pursuing love and achievement in a time of hate and severely limited opportunities. Though not all of the stories in Forbidden Fruit end in triumph; they all celebrate hope; passion; courage; and triumph of the human spirit.
#396114 in Books Simon n Schuster 2010-06-01 2010-06-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.44 x .90 x 5.50l; .61 #File Name: 0743254910320 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Insight Into What Makes America TickBy RobertFLAnyone interested in the founding of the United States should find this book engrossing. Thoroughly researched; well written and with deep insight into relatable people and the early years of the Republic; this work takes what history books typically dismiss as a minor uprising and explains how it might instead easily have become the undoing of the new United States and George Washington himself. Surprising elements include a self-appointed militia burning down the plantation of western Pennsylvania's most prominent slaveholder; how deeply the personal financial interests of George Washington himself were caught up in the Pittsburgh area and affected by the rebellion; and how that region and parts of Virginia agreed to form their own nation and created their own large army.The non-fiction narrative flows smoothly and builds characters in a way that keeps you wanting to know what happens next. Fast and fascinating read.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Excellent read!By E. NelsonThis is a very good book for someone who has heard of the Whiskey Rebellion; but never really learned about it. The book starts off discussing the financial condition of the nation after the American Revolution (broke); then goes on to discuss Hamilton's plans to fund the nation and pay off war bonds by developing tax plan that hurts the poor; which in this case happened to hurt most those living in western PA. According to this book; anyway; the Whiskey Rebellion was not about taxes; but about Hamilton specifically taxing the poor to pay the rich. Hamilton helped rich bankers buy up what at the time were worthless war bonds for pennies on the dollar; and then Hamilton got the US gov't to pay those bonds at full value by taxing the poor.Although I had expected to read a book entirely about Washington leading troops into Pittsburgh; the book only devotes a few pages at the very end to Washington and the troops. The first 95% of the book is devoted to the events; over several years; leading up to Washington and the troops; but I must say this makes more sense and actually is more interesting to read.Overall a very good book; fairly quick to read; no slow or boring chapters; and no over use of statistics like a lot of history authors do. Highly recommended!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A bit dry but very thorough...better toward the endBy schweppesThis book's historical accuracy was somewhat tiring but overall I enjoyed learning the background of the Whiskey Rebellion. It got interesting about 3/4 through. Sadly; the whole point of the rebellion was summarized in less than a page. Maybe I'm too OCD but I think the facts could have been more quickly presented.
