The Boston way How radicals opposed slavery and the Civil War

Kurlansky's (The Core of an Onion) latest focuses on the "Boston Clique" and their mission to end enslavement in the U.S. Successful in their goal to end Jim Crow laws on the Massachusetts railroad, they utilized nonviolence and the power of persuasion to increase their ranks. Over 16 chapters, plus an epilogue, spanning the early to mid-19th century, readers are introduced to William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony. Kurlansky also profiles lesser-known but equally important abolitionists, including Lydia Maria Child, William Ingersoll Bowditch, Charles Lenox Remond, and William Cooper Nell. Beginning with background information, each successive chapter describes the work and fallout of efforts to convince Bostonians of the abolitionist cause. In one case, novelist Lydia Maria Child was shunned by family and neighbors, and her books ceased to be published. Kurlansky's epilogue makes an excellent case for the enduring legacy of persuasion and nonviolence in the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century. VERDICT A fascinating account of the abolitionist movement, with the city of Boston as an excellent setting.--Jacqueline Parascandola