"Abraham H. Galloway (1837-70) was a fiery young slave rebel, radical abolitionist, and Union spy who rose out of bondage to become one of the most significant and stirring black leaders in the South during the Civil War. Throughout his brief, mercurial life, Galloway fought against slavery and injustice. This riveting portrait illuminates Galloway's life and deepens our insight into the Civil War and Reconstruction as experienced by African Americans...

"Narratives written by enslaved Africans in America are few in number. Some are transformative, like that of Harriet Jacobs; others are lesser, like the brief one attributed to Harriet's brother, John S. Jacobs. The revelation, here, of a much longer, richer, and more radical version of John's story, is a major historical event. His work is all the more significant for having been written and published in Australia, outside the sanitizing and bowdlerizing...