Description: From a distinguished historian comes a groundbreaking new examination of the myths and realities of the period after the Civil War. Drawing on a wide range of long-neglected documents, Foner compellingly refutes long-standing misconceptions of Reconstruction, and shows how the failures of the time sowed the seeds of the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and 60s.
Review Quotes: "A highly readable story of black Americans' ongoing heroic struggle for freedom . . . Beautifully told." -The Washington Post Book World"Passionate, lucid, concise without being light. . . . Foner traces the lines of race and politics that run from Reconstruction to the age of segregation to the civil rights movement to our own time." -The New York Times Book Review"Foner delves deeply into the politics of the time, to be sure, but he spends much more time showing how political decisions affected real people. . . . This book has the potential to become a model for future history books that target a broader audience." -The Washington Monthly"African Americans emerge as political powerful actors in Forever Free. In [these] vivid pages . . . we become acquainted with these extraordinary people, some well-known, some virtually unknown." -The New Republic