From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge, written by Brian Martin and narrated by Chris Sorensen, presents a detailed and, at least to many from the United States, little known history of people in flight to Canada.

I listened to the audiobook and found the narration to be very good, a nice mix of sharing information and telling a story. The early part of the book tended a bit more toward simply telling us who came and why, how things changed, and what caused these changes. This is, I think, because it was setting up the background to better understand the period under the most scrutiny. Once we reached that point, it became more narrative and less expository. Any history book has to have elements of both or it is essentially either a novel or a history textbook. I think this finds a nice balance.

I was surprised by some of the stories, though the more I thought about it I realized it was largely because I don't know Canada's history very well and made the unconscious assumption that the country (or colony) then is the same as I know now. That is on me and this volume goes a long way toward filling in gaps in my knowledge beyond the basic scope of the book.

Canada's history, from being directly tied to Britain to now, has been a series of stutter steps toward racial equality and fairness. This is true of most "western" countries, certainly of the United States. I think a lot of what I took away from this book had to do with just how varied public opinion was. Like in the US, some were abolitionist and some not. Some tried to not be racist while others were openly so. Because of the "norms" of the day the racists were considered as mainstream as those not. Even many abolitionists, like in the US, didn't support equality as we now define it, they just knew it was wrong to systematically enslave a race of human beings. To the extent there were lines drawn, they were dotted lines and very porous.

Highly recommended for those with an interest in the US Civil War period as well as those interested in Canadian history. I think most readers will be surprised at how much they don't know and/or misunderstood.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

From Underground Railroad o Rebel Refuge: Canada and the Civil War by Brian Martin gives a well-researched, in-depth and highly readable look at the American Civil and the role Canada olayed in it. Most of what Canadians are taught about this is limited to Canada’s role as a final destination of runaway enslaved people previous to the war. But this is only part of the story. As he shows, 20,000 Canadians took part in the war and on both sides. He also explains how Canada became a refuge, not only for Black people but, after the war, for many white Southerners who took part in the war on the Confederate side who moved to Canada to escape any retribution. This included members of the Ku Klux Klan and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. Many of these people would eventually return to the US but many remained here.

Using both primary and secondary sources, this book adds a great deal, not only to Canadian history but to a wider history of slavery both before the Civil War and after. But, perhaps even more important, Martin avoids the excessive pedantry that too often makes history hard to read but, instead has compiled a fascinating look at a part of history that few of learned in school but should have.

Thanks to Netalley and ECW Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review ( )