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Reviews
| Blacks on the Border: The Black Refugees in British North America, 1815–1860. By Harvey Amani Whitfield. Burlington: University of Vermont Press, 2006. xiii + 179 pp. Maps, notes, bibliography, and index. $65.00 (cloth); $24.95 (paper).
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There is a disturbing trend developing in scholarly publishing to give a book a title, and even a subtitle, which claims more than it delivers. This notion appears to have been borrowed from the private sector and is rooted in the belief that if a larger audience can be attracted, more copies will be sold. While the economics of scholarly publishing are a legitimate concern for many both inside and outside the academy, one can only hope such misplaced marketing ploys are discarded before the inevitable reaction takes root. |
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This book is not really about "blacks on the border." Nor is it about "black refugees in British North America"—at least not the entire geopolitical area. While this volume touches upon these topics, such phrases detract from the work's true focus. |
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What this book is in reality is an important, intriguing, and interesting examination of a little-known, and less understood, element in the formation of Nova Scotia's black community, one of the largest in Canada. It is a very good study of the choices black southerners made during the War of 1812 to leave for new lives in the north. It is about migration, adaptation, and community formation—all worthy themes deserving of a more appropriate title. |
3
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This book is a valuable addition to both Canadian and U.S. scholarship on black communities for other reasons as well. It takes the form of a traditional historical narrative, but one that is skillfully infused with current social science theories. It builds upon our existing knowledge of the Nova Scotia black community in a respectful manner by allowing us to see the material in new ways. The effort to compare and contrast black community formation in Nova Scotia and New England is especially noteworthy as it produces several revealing insights. The research is also impressive, adding considerably to our appreciation of the range and quality of source materials and the realization that even a severely disadvantaged minority leaves a meaningful chronicle of the lives of its members. |
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This is a good scholarly work. It deserves a broad audience. One hopes that not too many potential readers will be put off by its overreaching titles.
R. Bruce Shepard
The Manitoba Museum
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5
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