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Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home
A gripping and true story about five boys who were kidnapped in the North and smuggled into slavery in the Deep South—and their daring attempt to escape and bring their captors to justice, reminiscent of Twelve Years a Slave and Never Caught.
Philadelphia, 1825: five young, free black boys fall into the clutches of the most fearsome gang of kidnappers and slavers in the United States. Lured onto a small ship with the promise of food and pay, they are instead met with blindfolds, ropes, and knives. Over four long months, their kidnappers drive them overland into the Cotton Kingdom to be sold as slaves. Determined to resist, the boys form a tight brotherhood as they struggle to free themselves and find their way home.
Their ordeal—an odyssey that takes them from the Philadelphia waterfront to the marshes of Mississippi and then onward still—shines a glaring spotlight on the Reverse Underground Railroad, a black market network of human traffickers and slave traders who stole away thousands of legally free African Americans from their families in order to fuel slavery’s rapid expansion in the decades before the Civil War.
Impeccably researched and breathlessly paced, Stolen tells the incredible story of five boys whose courage forever changed the fight against slavery in America.
Philadelphia, 1825: five young, free black boys fall into the clutches of the most fearsome gang of kidnappers and slavers in the United States. Lured onto a small ship with the promise of food and pay, they are instead met with blindfolds, ropes, and knives. Over four long months, their kidnappers drive them overland into the Cotton Kingdom to be sold as slaves. Determined to resist, the boys form a tight brotherhood as they struggle to free themselves and find their way home.
Their ordeal—an odyssey that takes them from the Philadelphia waterfront to the marshes of Mississippi and then onward still—shines a glaring spotlight on the Reverse Underground Railroad, a black market network of human traffickers and slave traders who stole away thousands of legally free African Americans from their families in order to fuel slavery’s rapid expansion in the decades before the Civil War.
Impeccably researched and breathlessly paced, Stolen tells the incredible story of five boys whose courage forever changed the fight against slavery in America.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 195 reviews
September 8, 2020
“The daily threat posed by white and black kidnappers alike haunted their neighborhoods, a constant and existential reminder of the limits of African American freedom in post-revolutionary America.”
The author used letters, judicial records and newspaper articles to reconstruct the story of 5 free negro boys who were kidnapped in Philadelphia in August of 1825 and brought south to be sold into slavery. They ranged in age from 8 to 15. These were just 5 of many children who were either violently abducted or lured with the promise of work. They were then chained on ships and sent to one of the slave states. Some didn’t survive the trip south, most were sold but very few were lucky enough to find their way home. This wasn’t an adventure story; the rescue involved legal maneuvering. Since the kidnapper gangs were naturally pretty secretive, there isn’t much of a paper trail, but I thought the author did a very good job with his research. He was fortunate that a lawyer in Mississippi wrote a comprehensive memorandum about the boys and that newspapers reported on their testimony.
This was a compelling story. The book has a few pictures and almost 50% of the kindle file is comprised of endnotes. Of particular interest to me was the fact that one of the boys was an escaped slave from a New Jersey plantation. His family had at one time been owned by a man named John Kline. The author confirmed this from a history of 2 counties, in one of which I was born. That aspect of the story was a shocker to me. In fact, I lived on Kline’s Mill Road. Somehow this history of New Jersey never made it into classroom discussions.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
The author used letters, judicial records and newspaper articles to reconstruct the story of 5 free negro boys who were kidnapped in Philadelphia in August of 1825 and brought south to be sold into slavery. They ranged in age from 8 to 15. These were just 5 of many children who were either violently abducted or lured with the promise of work. They were then chained on ships and sent to one of the slave states. Some didn’t survive the trip south, most were sold but very few were lucky enough to find their way home. This wasn’t an adventure story; the rescue involved legal maneuvering. Since the kidnapper gangs were naturally pretty secretive, there isn’t much of a paper trail, but I thought the author did a very good job with his research. He was fortunate that a lawyer in Mississippi wrote a comprehensive memorandum about the boys and that newspapers reported on their testimony.
This was a compelling story. The book has a few pictures and almost 50% of the kindle file is comprised of endnotes. Of particular interest to me was the fact that one of the boys was an escaped slave from a New Jersey plantation. His family had at one time been owned by a man named John Kline. The author confirmed this from a history of 2 counties, in one of which I was born. That aspect of the story was a shocker to me. In fact, I lived on Kline’s Mill Road. Somehow this history of New Jersey never made it into classroom discussions.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
October 15, 2019
Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home
When I first picked up Stolen, I thought I was reading of five boys in an imagined history, free in their difficult but navigable world, and the tale had the feel of shady, but survivable, adventure. The kind of adventure where a reader is first introduced to the main characters precisely at the point where the adventure presents itself upside-down and backwards. . .. but a reader knows that, having got reader’s attention, the storyline will right itself and proceed on a progressive, forward direction. You know – the way most good fiction starts! Very soon, though, with footnotes aplenty, paintings of actual places and powerful people and endnotes promised, this reader soon realized this was no fiction.
With sinking heart I read it all. Every last endnote. Shameful, terrifying to think real people, regardless of age went through these horrors. Then heartbreaking to realize their ages, just little kids. My heart went out to the women that were with them, and all the abuse they must have suffered and the hopelessness all of them had to carry with them constantly. Even the imbecilic keepers who imposed this unrighteous dominion – what if one little rebellious desire arose in their hearts – why are we doing this? This doesn’t feel right. . . how fast would they have to squash that good urge due to the general mores and sick traditions of their society and families? How fast does a good person turn into the same monster from which they are running? How does that song go?
[Verse 1]
You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught
[Verse 2]
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade
You've got to be carefully taught
[Verse 3]
You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught
(From the musical, South Pacific, You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II)
In his book "Stolen," author Richard Bell presents a serious case for the realities of the “Reverse Underground Railroad”: the active business of going North and kidnapping free black citizens and getting them to a part of their world that would willingly turn a blind eye as citizens and neighbors were hauled off into the shadows, where they would be shipped to buyers with money in hand for the best deals on the river. That these five boys made it back. . .well not all did, and that’s part of the sorrow. . .that they made it back was nothing short of miraculous. Not all victories are happy. . . and they did make it back, but carried the memories down through the generations (if there be generations). Appalling. Astonishing. On one hand I think of my ancestors with reverence and veneration. On the other – What the Hell Were YOU Thinking?????!!!!! How can anyone justify this?? What got you to THAT place???
Outrage stoked. If that was the goal. I’m there. A worthy read.
A sincere thanks to Richard Bell, 37 Ink / Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When I first picked up Stolen, I thought I was reading of five boys in an imagined history, free in their difficult but navigable world, and the tale had the feel of shady, but survivable, adventure. The kind of adventure where a reader is first introduced to the main characters precisely at the point where the adventure presents itself upside-down and backwards. . .. but a reader knows that, having got reader’s attention, the storyline will right itself and proceed on a progressive, forward direction. You know – the way most good fiction starts! Very soon, though, with footnotes aplenty, paintings of actual places and powerful people and endnotes promised, this reader soon realized this was no fiction.
With sinking heart I read it all. Every last endnote. Shameful, terrifying to think real people, regardless of age went through these horrors. Then heartbreaking to realize their ages, just little kids. My heart went out to the women that were with them, and all the abuse they must have suffered and the hopelessness all of them had to carry with them constantly. Even the imbecilic keepers who imposed this unrighteous dominion – what if one little rebellious desire arose in their hearts – why are we doing this? This doesn’t feel right. . . how fast would they have to squash that good urge due to the general mores and sick traditions of their society and families? How fast does a good person turn into the same monster from which they are running? How does that song go?
[Verse 1]
You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught
[Verse 2]
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade
You've got to be carefully taught
[Verse 3]
You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught
(From the musical, South Pacific, You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II)
In his book "Stolen," author Richard Bell presents a serious case for the realities of the “Reverse Underground Railroad”: the active business of going North and kidnapping free black citizens and getting them to a part of their world that would willingly turn a blind eye as citizens and neighbors were hauled off into the shadows, where they would be shipped to buyers with money in hand for the best deals on the river. That these five boys made it back. . .well not all did, and that’s part of the sorrow. . .that they made it back was nothing short of miraculous. Not all victories are happy. . . and they did make it back, but carried the memories down through the generations (if there be generations). Appalling. Astonishing. On one hand I think of my ancestors with reverence and veneration. On the other – What the Hell Were YOU Thinking?????!!!!! How can anyone justify this?? What got you to THAT place???
Outrage stoked. If that was the goal. I’m there. A worthy read.
A sincere thanks to Richard Bell, 37 Ink / Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 12, 2019
4 stars
In the mid 1800's, prior to the Civil War, nearly 20 thousand black people were stolen in northern states and trafficked to slave barring states each year. Men, woman and children alike. Anyone that would bring a good dollar to the illegal slave traders.
This is the story of 5 such young boys, between the ages of 8 and 16, who were stolen off the streets of Philadelphia. Warned by their parents not to believe strangers, especially white men. Tricked into thinking they were being taken to a job that would earn them a quarter. Tricked by a black man - a man of color - one of their own. Or savagely abducted and carried off. Ending up chained and shackled in the cargo hold of a small sailing vessel. A vessel headed south.
For four months this group of 5 boys traveled south, often walking barefoot for miles at a time, hand and neck chains often used to bind them together. Minimal food, severe beatings, and always under surveillance. While their parents tried desperately to find them.
This is an amazing story of how 3 white men in Mississippi and a lone white Mayor of Philadelphia brought 4 of the 5 boys home to their families over a year later. And how three of these boys were able to testified against their captors - at a time when a black man was refused the right to testify in his own behalf. Just the fact of and the process of getting these 4 boys home was miraculous in that day and age - something that just did not happen - ever. Once stolen and taken south a person did not return. They were forever more a slave in the south.
A lot of research went into this book, but it was two letters and a newspaper summary from the past that pulled all the facts together. All three appearing word for word in the book appendix.
At first I thought this book was pretty dry and I was not going to like it because it was just going to spew out facts. However as I got a bit further into the book I was worried for the lives of the 5 boys involved and was caught up in the corruption of the family of illegal slave traders.
This is a sad story and not all turned out well for everyone, but for those that it did, it was due to the human dignity and worth that 4 white men - one of whom was a slave owner himself - placed on the lives of 4 young black boys.
In the mid 1800's, prior to the Civil War, nearly 20 thousand black people were stolen in northern states and trafficked to slave barring states each year. Men, woman and children alike. Anyone that would bring a good dollar to the illegal slave traders.
This is the story of 5 such young boys, between the ages of 8 and 16, who were stolen off the streets of Philadelphia. Warned by their parents not to believe strangers, especially white men. Tricked into thinking they were being taken to a job that would earn them a quarter. Tricked by a black man - a man of color - one of their own. Or savagely abducted and carried off. Ending up chained and shackled in the cargo hold of a small sailing vessel. A vessel headed south.
For four months this group of 5 boys traveled south, often walking barefoot for miles at a time, hand and neck chains often used to bind them together. Minimal food, severe beatings, and always under surveillance. While their parents tried desperately to find them.
This is an amazing story of how 3 white men in Mississippi and a lone white Mayor of Philadelphia brought 4 of the 5 boys home to their families over a year later. And how three of these boys were able to testified against their captors - at a time when a black man was refused the right to testify in his own behalf. Just the fact of and the process of getting these 4 boys home was miraculous in that day and age - something that just did not happen - ever. Once stolen and taken south a person did not return. They were forever more a slave in the south.
A lot of research went into this book, but it was two letters and a newspaper summary from the past that pulled all the facts together. All three appearing word for word in the book appendix.
At first I thought this book was pretty dry and I was not going to like it because it was just going to spew out facts. However as I got a bit further into the book I was worried for the lives of the 5 boys involved and was caught up in the corruption of the family of illegal slave traders.
This is a sad story and not all turned out well for everyone, but for those that it did, it was due to the human dignity and worth that 4 white men - one of whom was a slave owner himself - placed on the lives of 4 young black boys.
June 8, 2020
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2020/06/...
I’ve been pretty interested in US history recently. I spent a lot of last year reading biographies of presidents, which is something a lot of people do, but like, I never thought I’d read a book about James A. Garfield and get excited about it, if you know what I mean. This year, with all the stuff going on, and for research for a book I’m getting ready to write, I’ve been focusing on some more specific points of history, rather than people. The way I came across this book was pretty random. I’ve been doing research into the American prison system, and for whatever reason, this book just flitted across one of my Google searches. I said, “Well, that looks cool” and immediately downloaded the audiobook from my library’s website.
Stolen tells the harrowing story of five kidnapped boys between the ages of 8 and 16, and their journey from the free north, into the slave-rich deep south. The story of how these boys were caught was roughly the same for each of them, with a few deviations here or there. These boys were all vulnerable for one reason or another. Alone and desperate/hungry, they were lured by another black man, whom they considered one of their own, for a job, or food, or in a few cases, abducted outright. Led away from what they knew, they were either taken into a ship off the coast, and then beaten and chained and kept there, before their southern journey began.
Their journey south took about four months, and a lot of it was spent walking barefoot across rugged terrain while chained in a line, before being sold into slavery once they got to their destination. In the early 1800’s, it was nearly unheard of for white men to fight for black, and truly, that’s what it took to get four of the five boys in this book back: a fight. The mayor of Philadelphia (where they were all taken from) working in conjunction with four white men in the south. Unfortunately, one of the boys taken was never returned, and he remained a slave for the rest of his life. Three of the boys who were returned were allowed to testify on their own behalf against their captors, which was absolutely unheard of at the time (as black people were refused the right to testify on their own behalf.)
A lot of research went into this book, though at the very start the author makes it clear that a whole lot of what he learned, and a whole lot of what happens hinges on two letters and a newspaper article that pulled all these loose facts together into one cohesive, meaningful narrative. That being said, the work he must have done to parse out the lives and stories of these boys, including the bits that he infers due to the information he had and likely practices in the areas at the times things took place, was painstaking and incredibly well done.
We know a lot about the Underground Railroad, and those people who risked so much to bring slaves from the South, up North. We know next to nothing about the Reverse Underground Railroad, and that’s truly what this book is about, that dark operation, where people worked in the other direction, bringing free black men and women, often through kidnapping and coercion, from free states in the North, to be sold into (most often) a lifetime of slavery in the deep South. This book truly is focusing on an aspect of the slave trade in the United States I knew absolutely nothing about before now, told through the harrowing saga, and often painful journey of five boys who were victims of the Reverse Underground Railroad.
The Reverse Underground Railroad was a criminal operation, and so not much is known about it, nor are there many records left from the people who trafficked in this way, which makes the telling of this aspect of history, and the learning of it hard for both people like me, who are curious, and a challenge for authors like Richard Bell, who are working to shine a light on this particular aspect of American history. Bell is quite clear from the outset that there were numerous remarkable aspects of the story he’s telling in this book, which make it easier for him to tell it, not the least of which is that four of the five boys were brought back, and three were given a voice at a time where that was nearly unheard of. This makes their stories a bit easier to tell than so many others who were likely trafficked, and lost to history.
The fact remains, the Reverse Underground Railroad was absolutely a thriving operation where men working on behalf of slavers in the south often waited in cities like Philadelphia for young black men and women who looked like they had a lot of working life left in them, and few attachments. These men and women would be taken, secreted to slavers to the south, resulting in a life of servitude. The people who worked on the Reverse Underground Railroad are not celebrated. Their names, often as not, are not remembered. There are no Harriet Tubmans on the Reverse Underground Railroad. This thriving operation worked right under the noses of so many Americans at the time, who either did not see what was happening, or chose not to, or some mixture of both, and yet, countless lives were destroyed, unalterably in most cases.
It did take me some time to get into this book, but soon the stories of these boys took off, and I was swept along. The narrator, Leon Nixon, does a fantastic job reading this book. He’s easy to listen to, and something about the cadence of his voice was almost hypnotizing to me. Between that, and the story itself, I had a very, very hard time turning this book off when I needed to focus on other things.
The book itself isn’t terribly long. The narration of it took a touch over seven hours, which is much shorter than my usual listens, however, a lot is covered in these pages, and after the initial setup of the details, the North vs. South culture at the time this took place, and the struggles so many young freed black men and women face in towns like Philadelphia, as well as outlining the basis for the Reverse Underground Railroad and how it functioned, the story really took off. The author lays out his research flawlessly, and is clear about when he is inferring something based on the information he has at hand and/or circumstantial evidence.
Stolen tells the story of five boys taken on the Reverse Underground Railroad, and the ordeal to find them, and get them back. At the end of the day, I was glad I read this book, but I was ultimately left feeling really cold. Cold, because I wonder how many lives were ruined due to the Reverse Underground Railroad. Cold, because I wonder how many stories aren’t told. Cold, because this is a dark piece of American history, and I think more people should know about it.
I’ve been pretty interested in US history recently. I spent a lot of last year reading biographies of presidents, which is something a lot of people do, but like, I never thought I’d read a book about James A. Garfield and get excited about it, if you know what I mean. This year, with all the stuff going on, and for research for a book I’m getting ready to write, I’ve been focusing on some more specific points of history, rather than people. The way I came across this book was pretty random. I’ve been doing research into the American prison system, and for whatever reason, this book just flitted across one of my Google searches. I said, “Well, that looks cool” and immediately downloaded the audiobook from my library’s website.
Stolen tells the harrowing story of five kidnapped boys between the ages of 8 and 16, and their journey from the free north, into the slave-rich deep south. The story of how these boys were caught was roughly the same for each of them, with a few deviations here or there. These boys were all vulnerable for one reason or another. Alone and desperate/hungry, they were lured by another black man, whom they considered one of their own, for a job, or food, or in a few cases, abducted outright. Led away from what they knew, they were either taken into a ship off the coast, and then beaten and chained and kept there, before their southern journey began.
Their journey south took about four months, and a lot of it was spent walking barefoot across rugged terrain while chained in a line, before being sold into slavery once they got to their destination. In the early 1800’s, it was nearly unheard of for white men to fight for black, and truly, that’s what it took to get four of the five boys in this book back: a fight. The mayor of Philadelphia (where they were all taken from) working in conjunction with four white men in the south. Unfortunately, one of the boys taken was never returned, and he remained a slave for the rest of his life. Three of the boys who were returned were allowed to testify on their own behalf against their captors, which was absolutely unheard of at the time (as black people were refused the right to testify on their own behalf.)
A lot of research went into this book, though at the very start the author makes it clear that a whole lot of what he learned, and a whole lot of what happens hinges on two letters and a newspaper article that pulled all these loose facts together into one cohesive, meaningful narrative. That being said, the work he must have done to parse out the lives and stories of these boys, including the bits that he infers due to the information he had and likely practices in the areas at the times things took place, was painstaking and incredibly well done.
We know a lot about the Underground Railroad, and those people who risked so much to bring slaves from the South, up North. We know next to nothing about the Reverse Underground Railroad, and that’s truly what this book is about, that dark operation, where people worked in the other direction, bringing free black men and women, often through kidnapping and coercion, from free states in the North, to be sold into (most often) a lifetime of slavery in the deep South. This book truly is focusing on an aspect of the slave trade in the United States I knew absolutely nothing about before now, told through the harrowing saga, and often painful journey of five boys who were victims of the Reverse Underground Railroad.
The Reverse Underground Railroad was a criminal operation, and so not much is known about it, nor are there many records left from the people who trafficked in this way, which makes the telling of this aspect of history, and the learning of it hard for both people like me, who are curious, and a challenge for authors like Richard Bell, who are working to shine a light on this particular aspect of American history. Bell is quite clear from the outset that there were numerous remarkable aspects of the story he’s telling in this book, which make it easier for him to tell it, not the least of which is that four of the five boys were brought back, and three were given a voice at a time where that was nearly unheard of. This makes their stories a bit easier to tell than so many others who were likely trafficked, and lost to history.
The fact remains, the Reverse Underground Railroad was absolutely a thriving operation where men working on behalf of slavers in the south often waited in cities like Philadelphia for young black men and women who looked like they had a lot of working life left in them, and few attachments. These men and women would be taken, secreted to slavers to the south, resulting in a life of servitude. The people who worked on the Reverse Underground Railroad are not celebrated. Their names, often as not, are not remembered. There are no Harriet Tubmans on the Reverse Underground Railroad. This thriving operation worked right under the noses of so many Americans at the time, who either did not see what was happening, or chose not to, or some mixture of both, and yet, countless lives were destroyed, unalterably in most cases.
It did take me some time to get into this book, but soon the stories of these boys took off, and I was swept along. The narrator, Leon Nixon, does a fantastic job reading this book. He’s easy to listen to, and something about the cadence of his voice was almost hypnotizing to me. Between that, and the story itself, I had a very, very hard time turning this book off when I needed to focus on other things.
The book itself isn’t terribly long. The narration of it took a touch over seven hours, which is much shorter than my usual listens, however, a lot is covered in these pages, and after the initial setup of the details, the North vs. South culture at the time this took place, and the struggles so many young freed black men and women face in towns like Philadelphia, as well as outlining the basis for the Reverse Underground Railroad and how it functioned, the story really took off. The author lays out his research flawlessly, and is clear about when he is inferring something based on the information he has at hand and/or circumstantial evidence.
Stolen tells the story of five boys taken on the Reverse Underground Railroad, and the ordeal to find them, and get them back. At the end of the day, I was glad I read this book, but I was ultimately left feeling really cold. Cold, because I wonder how many lives were ruined due to the Reverse Underground Railroad. Cold, because I wonder how many stories aren’t told. Cold, because this is a dark piece of American history, and I think more people should know about it.
September 29, 2020
This is Nonfiction - True Crime set in the early 1800's. Five free boys in Philadelphia go missing. They were kidnapped and then sent south and sold into slavery. This was called the reverse underground railroad. These people made a living out of this kidnapping. This made me wonder, "What is wrong with people?"
This was a sad and tragic part of American history. I felt for the families. The research was thorough. The story was told seamlessly.
This was a sad and tragic part of American history. I felt for the families. The research was thorough. The story was told seamlessly.
October 18, 2019
Stolen is a compelling history that is well-written, accessible, and will capture the attention of undergraduates, high-level high school students, and anyone interested in a story that details the brutal 19th-century United States Slave Economy.
Bell's book is a microhistory of five different free black boys, from different backgrounds and different ages, who are kidnapped, coffled (caravan) across the US to the deep south, and eventually attempt to escape back to their homes. For historians of the United States, there isn't a whole lot that is new here theoretically, but Bell does bring the Reverse Underground Railroad into painful visibility.
At the heart of this story, is the separation of families and the ability of individuals to make a difference. This will resonate with anyone struggling with the current political situation in border areas around the world. It will also be moving for parents of all backgrounds to read. Shining brightly in an otherwise dim story are the people who help out along the way. Abolitionists and people who fought injustice rather than participating in the illegal and legal slave trade illustrate clearly the importance of action in times of injustice.
Rick Bell's "Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home" is a skillfully written book that will appeal to wide audiences and hopefully be read by many.
You can hear my interview of Bell at www.hourofhistory.com
Bell's book is a microhistory of five different free black boys, from different backgrounds and different ages, who are kidnapped, coffled (caravan) across the US to the deep south, and eventually attempt to escape back to their homes. For historians of the United States, there isn't a whole lot that is new here theoretically, but Bell does bring the Reverse Underground Railroad into painful visibility.
At the heart of this story, is the separation of families and the ability of individuals to make a difference. This will resonate with anyone struggling with the current political situation in border areas around the world. It will also be moving for parents of all backgrounds to read. Shining brightly in an otherwise dim story are the people who help out along the way. Abolitionists and people who fought injustice rather than participating in the illegal and legal slave trade illustrate clearly the importance of action in times of injustice.
Rick Bell's "Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home" is a skillfully written book that will appeal to wide audiences and hopefully be read by many.
You can hear my interview of Bell at www.hourofhistory.com
May 5, 2019
“””even today, we confront the haunting legacies of the sins of the past””” ...... In all honesty I’ll have to get my hands on a finished copy to truly appreciate the illustrations that are included in this amazing book. We’re all painfully familiar with the Underground Railroad, but most of us know next to nothing about the Reverse Underground Railroad. In this book we follow five, young, free black boys who are savagely ripped from their homes and delivered to the south to be sold as slaves. An incredible story that will, at the very least, rip your heart out. Intensely written, fast paced and mind gripping.
February 28, 2023
Most of this was just info on the reverse Underground Railroad. There was a few facts of the actual story weaved in and out. There was a lot of “they probably felt”, “they might have said”, “we can speculate”. Not what I was expecting.
July 18, 2019
I did not know about the Reverse Underground until reading this. This is more research material than book, but it was still a good read and very informative. It was greatly disturbing as well.
October 21, 2019
STOLEN: FIVE FREE BOYS KIDNAPPED INTO SLAVERY AND THEIR ASTONISHING ODYSSEY HOME
Author’s Bio
Richard Bell is the author of Stolen. He currently teaches Early American History at the University of Maryland.
Who is the target audience?
The answer in a word is; humanity.
Synopsis'
The time is 1825, the place Philadelphia, North America, and a small group of free black boys are about to be kidnapped. They are about to be transported as slaves to serve the needs and wants of a slave hungry South and its human Grissom for the Cotton Kingdom Mill. The real story, however, relates to the titanic strengths and fortitude exhibited by the 5 boys placed in the untenable excruciating predicament of having lived free and taken as slaves under the threat of violence. Despite the seemingly overwhelming odds, the boys seek ways to escape their bondage and return home. To discover if they manage to escape and the consequences of the events affecting their lives you will have to read it yourself. At its worst, this is one example of mans’ inhumanity to man. At it’s best, this is a call to the resilience of spirit and the power of unity in the face of extremes of privation and enormous adversity.
Conclusion
Masterfully written, flawlessly researched, and a tale of 5 free men abducted and taken on a journey of epic proportions. This is a work for our times; lest we forget. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Acknowledgment
My sincere thanks go to: NetGalley, and 37 Ink for affording me the opportunity to review of “Stolen”.
Author’s Bio
Richard Bell is the author of Stolen. He currently teaches Early American History at the University of Maryland.
Who is the target audience?
The answer in a word is; humanity.
Synopsis'
The time is 1825, the place Philadelphia, North America, and a small group of free black boys are about to be kidnapped. They are about to be transported as slaves to serve the needs and wants of a slave hungry South and its human Grissom for the Cotton Kingdom Mill. The real story, however, relates to the titanic strengths and fortitude exhibited by the 5 boys placed in the untenable excruciating predicament of having lived free and taken as slaves under the threat of violence. Despite the seemingly overwhelming odds, the boys seek ways to escape their bondage and return home. To discover if they manage to escape and the consequences of the events affecting their lives you will have to read it yourself. At its worst, this is one example of mans’ inhumanity to man. At it’s best, this is a call to the resilience of spirit and the power of unity in the face of extremes of privation and enormous adversity.
Conclusion
Masterfully written, flawlessly researched, and a tale of 5 free men abducted and taken on a journey of epic proportions. This is a work for our times; lest we forget. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Acknowledgment
My sincere thanks go to: NetGalley, and 37 Ink for affording me the opportunity to review of “Stolen”.
January 28, 2020
Well, this book was excellent and fascinating. As someone who adores American history, I'm ashamed to say I knew virtually nothing about the Reverse Underground Railroad and the state of slaves in the 1820s when international slave trading had been outlawed, but domestic slave trading was alive and well. Briefly touched on in the book/movie 12 Years a Slave, this era was rampant with the kidnapping and selling of free people. This book focuses on a small few who were, by luck and the right (white) people were discovered and returned home. Most were not that lucky. A harrowing read.
June 14, 2020
Even though I'm fascinated with historical nonfiction I don't read a lot of it preferring to read historical fiction based on true events .
Heart wrenching historical details given of five free boys kidnapped into slavery.
The terror they endured shows a total lack of human decency from the captor.
Brutal and sadly true a hard read.
Pub Date: 15 Oct 2019
I was given a complimentary copy. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Heart wrenching historical details given of five free boys kidnapped into slavery.
The terror they endured shows a total lack of human decency from the captor.
Brutal and sadly true a hard read.
Pub Date: 15 Oct 2019
I was given a complimentary copy. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.
April 11, 2023
This was a very interesting read. Very detailed and in depth research about the reverse underground railroad. Along with the research the author discusses 5 boys who were kidnapped from the north and sold into slavery. There is no narration, but Bell did a great job weaving his research throughout the book all while telling the story of these young boys. This book really made me think of modern day human trafficking while reading it. History can never be forgotten because it is only duplicated!
December 8, 2024
This was very informative and quite a sad story about 5 boys that were kidnapped in Philadelphia in 1825. I wouldn’t even consider using good reads as a platform for me to start ranting about my own convictions but I will say that I did feel very sorry for the victims in this story. As for the history of our country and just a brief look into the effects of slavery and the reverse Underground Railroad it does give me some relief knowing that we have learned from past mistakes.
September 12, 2020
A good solid history of slavery in the 1820s and the Reverse Underground Railroad told from the perspective of 5 young boys kidnapped into slavery.
October 30, 2019
I'd read enough about the reverse underground railroad to understand, intellectually, the brutality and horror of it all. With Stolen, Richard Bell takes this backdrop and presents the true story of five free black boys who'd been kidnapped and swept up into slavery. By personalizing this piece of history, Bell makes us feel it. Imagine being a ten-year-old child yanked off the street, beaten, transported to another state, and sold, all because your skin is the right - or wrong - color. Then imagine being that child's parent and having absolutely no legal recourse because your skin is dark and no one cares. This is the truth Bell shares with us.
I'm not sure I can put into words how vital this book is. Schools teach us a sanitized version of history, which does, perhaps, more harm than good.
While the content is intense, the writing style is an easy to read, casual narrative. This isn't a long, time-consuming read requiring a huge commitment. Almost half of the book is the research notes at the end.
The book contains quite a few images. I read this in ebook format, which never really does justice to images. They're small and it's difficult to see detail. I highly recommend buying the print version.
*I received a review copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.*
I'm not sure I can put into words how vital this book is. Schools teach us a sanitized version of history, which does, perhaps, more harm than good.
While the content is intense, the writing style is an easy to read, casual narrative. This isn't a long, time-consuming read requiring a huge commitment. Almost half of the book is the research notes at the end.
The book contains quite a few images. I read this in ebook format, which never really does justice to images. They're small and it's difficult to see detail. I highly recommend buying the print version.
*I received a review copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.*
October 26, 2019
Stolen is a stunningly lucid account of the kidnapping and repatriation of five Philadelphia black boys. Their return to freedom in the North was effected by the disparate efforts of basically independent whites, acting from their own motives. To my mind, the efforts of the various whites who participated in the recovery effort illustrates, among other things, the self-reliance and initiative de Tocqueville was writing about when he dissected the character of Americans. True, the motives of some Southerners were based on a larger self-interest in protecting the legal integrity of the Confederacy, but that doesn't change the fact they were willing to act 'honorably' in line with their notions of right and wrong. The better Angels of our Nature, indeed.
By all odds, this is one of the most intelligently written historical books I have ever read. The language is crisp, direct and cogent, and the time line is cleanly recounted. The narrative flows as well as anything ever written by John McPhee, David McCullough or Stephen King, three literary lions of our age. I do hope author Richard Bell receives as many awards for historical writing as are available!
By all odds, this is one of the most intelligently written historical books I have ever read. The language is crisp, direct and cogent, and the time line is cleanly recounted. The narrative flows as well as anything ever written by John McPhee, David McCullough or Stephen King, three literary lions of our age. I do hope author Richard Bell receives as many awards for historical writing as are available!
November 22, 2019
Important story to be told but unfortunately there is a lack of source material. It was clear the author had to speculate concerning a lot of the details. Even without that luxury, author did a good job of framing what was probably going on with sketches from similar cases and contemporary data. It is sad the heroes of the story are mostly silenced due to lack of source material. Regardless, I’m glad the author chose to produce this work.
August 26, 2019
I think this book is definitely an important book to read, but be prepared to have your heart broken. It’s disturbing in many ways, but sadly this was reality. If you like learning about history, you should read this book. Have tissues and take lots of breaks, they will be needed.
Will make sure I recommend to those I feel can handle the topic.
Will make sure I recommend to those I feel can handle the topic.
October 17, 2020
Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and their Astonishing Odyssey Home by Richard Bell is an amazing historical account of the activities of the Reverse Underground Railroad. Bell begins with a kidnapping in 1825 in Philadelphia, where five boys were individually taken, but these frighten boys shared space and a long journey that involved walking much of the way, as well as boat travel.
These outlaws kidnaped free Black people from the North and communities south of the Mason Dixon line. They were organized, even using mulattos to approach Black children and offer them money for odd jobs. Then the children were placed on boats, hidden in attics and houses in isolated location until the gang members were ready to take them South. We see how organized the Johnson-Cannon gang was, including having property in the South to ready their captives for sale. Living in Delaware, there is talk about Patty Cannon and her gang that operated in the southern part of the state and on the peninsula, but Bell’s details fill out the story.
In Edward E. Baptist’s The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism we learn about the coffles, the groups of enslaved people chained together to walk to new territories in the lower South. Baptist worked from WPA Narrative interviews of formerly enslaved people. By beginning with these kidnappings and the details of the recovery of some, Bell has the meat for a great narrative. There is the evidence sent to the Mayor Watson, once the kidnapping was uncovered. Most importantly the testimony in the trials that were well covered in the press in many states. Bell can effectively use the boys’ stories to communicate the horror along with road: the beatings, confinement, poor food and arduous travel. In foreign territory, there was no escape. Only one boy was literate, so there is little to learn about the environment and sort out who to trust.
The story is engaging and worth reading. Yet, I am amazed at how Bell touches on many themes in the text. We see Philadelphia and a mayor, John Watson, working to address a major problem, as his young citizens are pulled off the street. Black citizens call for action, as they own children disappear and families suffer the pain.
In the South, one of the boys tells, John Hamilton, the man who is about to purchase him, that he is free and was kidnapped. Hamilton believes him, looks at his scars, and gets a lawyer, who records the people’s stories and sends materials to the mayor of Philadelphia. It is long process, since 1820 mail services were not great. In Southern courts, a person needed a White witness to testify to his/her freedom. They get back to Philadelphia, tell their story and the state searches for the outlaws. Over time, the city would pass a personal liberty law and other states anti-kidnapping laws that the South resented, which began a long process to the Fugitive Slave Act.
Bell lets us see how the South, as well as the North changes. In the 1820s, there is tension between the regions, as the South wants people to migrate to the region and invest, but they are concerned about the bad press in terms of representations of lawlessness. The knowledge that some enslaved people were kidnapped does not help their case. They also feared that the illegal market would jeopardize the legal domestic slave trade, which is going on at the same time. Relations would change over time, as slavery became essential for Southern economic development. However, at this moment tensions and doubts worked to the kidnapped people’s advantage.
The stories of the boys are powerful and help to shape the anti-slavery message. Many slave narrative to focus on young people. The reality of the fragility of freedom pushed members of the Black community into self-defense. We see more involvement with Abolition.
There is much history here. The South would harden and resented efforts to prevent kidnapping. Over time, the kidnappers were better integrated into the legal domestic slave trade. Even buying papers to present their victims as legally purchased. By 1850, the terrain is different and we are on the way to a Civil War.
During this same time period, opportunities for advancement narrow for members of the Black community. There institutions are targets of violence. We see more immigrants competing for work and leaving the work White men do not work to Black men. Freedom is still fragile and there is no promise of economic advancement. It gives us much to consider at this period in history.
These outlaws kidnaped free Black people from the North and communities south of the Mason Dixon line. They were organized, even using mulattos to approach Black children and offer them money for odd jobs. Then the children were placed on boats, hidden in attics and houses in isolated location until the gang members were ready to take them South. We see how organized the Johnson-Cannon gang was, including having property in the South to ready their captives for sale. Living in Delaware, there is talk about Patty Cannon and her gang that operated in the southern part of the state and on the peninsula, but Bell’s details fill out the story.
In Edward E. Baptist’s The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism we learn about the coffles, the groups of enslaved people chained together to walk to new territories in the lower South. Baptist worked from WPA Narrative interviews of formerly enslaved people. By beginning with these kidnappings and the details of the recovery of some, Bell has the meat for a great narrative. There is the evidence sent to the Mayor Watson, once the kidnapping was uncovered. Most importantly the testimony in the trials that were well covered in the press in many states. Bell can effectively use the boys’ stories to communicate the horror along with road: the beatings, confinement, poor food and arduous travel. In foreign territory, there was no escape. Only one boy was literate, so there is little to learn about the environment and sort out who to trust.
The story is engaging and worth reading. Yet, I am amazed at how Bell touches on many themes in the text. We see Philadelphia and a mayor, John Watson, working to address a major problem, as his young citizens are pulled off the street. Black citizens call for action, as they own children disappear and families suffer the pain.
In the South, one of the boys tells, John Hamilton, the man who is about to purchase him, that he is free and was kidnapped. Hamilton believes him, looks at his scars, and gets a lawyer, who records the people’s stories and sends materials to the mayor of Philadelphia. It is long process, since 1820 mail services were not great. In Southern courts, a person needed a White witness to testify to his/her freedom. They get back to Philadelphia, tell their story and the state searches for the outlaws. Over time, the city would pass a personal liberty law and other states anti-kidnapping laws that the South resented, which began a long process to the Fugitive Slave Act.
Bell lets us see how the South, as well as the North changes. In the 1820s, there is tension between the regions, as the South wants people to migrate to the region and invest, but they are concerned about the bad press in terms of representations of lawlessness. The knowledge that some enslaved people were kidnapped does not help their case. They also feared that the illegal market would jeopardize the legal domestic slave trade, which is going on at the same time. Relations would change over time, as slavery became essential for Southern economic development. However, at this moment tensions and doubts worked to the kidnapped people’s advantage.
The stories of the boys are powerful and help to shape the anti-slavery message. Many slave narrative to focus on young people. The reality of the fragility of freedom pushed members of the Black community into self-defense. We see more involvement with Abolition.
There is much history here. The South would harden and resented efforts to prevent kidnapping. Over time, the kidnappers were better integrated into the legal domestic slave trade. Even buying papers to present their victims as legally purchased. By 1850, the terrain is different and we are on the way to a Civil War.
During this same time period, opportunities for advancement narrow for members of the Black community. There institutions are targets of violence. We see more immigrants competing for work and leaving the work White men do not work to Black men. Freedom is still fragile and there is no promise of economic advancement. It gives us much to consider at this period in history.
October 12, 2019
This was one of the first book reviews that was difficult for me to write. The subject matter was so powerful and sensitive I wasn't sure I could do it justice. Let me start by saying that Stolen by Richard Bell is a book that is a must read for everyone. It tells the story of two women and in particular five boys named Cornelius, Sam, Enos, Alex and Joe that were kidnapped in the North (PA) and sold into slavery in the South, taken by human traffickers in the 1820’s for no other reason but greed and financial gain. With no new influx of slaves from abroad, these human traffickers would kidnap free men, women and children or buy and resell slaves from the North to plantations down South where free labor was in demand and questions about the origin of these men, women and children were often not asked.
Stolen primarily focuses on these five unfortunate young boys who were taken from their family and friends. The crimes committed against these children were atrocious, yet not uncommon at this time in history. These boys became the victims of what was known as the Reverse Underground Railroad, the opposite of the Underground Railroad. Instead of being led to freedom, these victims of the Reverse Underground Railroad were free children, men and women of color that were outright kidnapped or led away with promises of work or food. Held against their will, shackled and kept in the most horrible conditions, they were marched South to be sold to the highest bidder not knowing what awaited them or if they would ever see their families again.
What they endured for months was nothing short of torture. Their families living their own private hell back home not knowing what happened to their children or loved ones. Through a series of events and with the help of a few men who were willing to right an injustice their stories were eventually told and the children returned to their families. However, there were many more victims of the Reverse Underground Railroad that will forever be lost. Names and faces that would never make it home. Not only anguish for the victims, but heartbreak for their families. The stories of these lost men, women and children cry out to be heard and in light of the rise in human trafficking today, this story is so relevant and more important than ever.
This book was not a page turner and at times was difficult to read. Sometimes I had to put it down because the content was difficult and left me emotionally disturbed, but I continued to read because I needed and wanted to know what happened to these boys and if they ever saw justice and their families again. Stolen will touch so many hearts in so many ways, but it’s a story that must be told and I’m grateful to Richard Bell for telling it.
I want to thank publisher Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book Stolen by Richard Bell. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Stolen primarily focuses on these five unfortunate young boys who were taken from their family and friends. The crimes committed against these children were atrocious, yet not uncommon at this time in history. These boys became the victims of what was known as the Reverse Underground Railroad, the opposite of the Underground Railroad. Instead of being led to freedom, these victims of the Reverse Underground Railroad were free children, men and women of color that were outright kidnapped or led away with promises of work or food. Held against their will, shackled and kept in the most horrible conditions, they were marched South to be sold to the highest bidder not knowing what awaited them or if they would ever see their families again.
What they endured for months was nothing short of torture. Their families living their own private hell back home not knowing what happened to their children or loved ones. Through a series of events and with the help of a few men who were willing to right an injustice their stories were eventually told and the children returned to their families. However, there were many more victims of the Reverse Underground Railroad that will forever be lost. Names and faces that would never make it home. Not only anguish for the victims, but heartbreak for their families. The stories of these lost men, women and children cry out to be heard and in light of the rise in human trafficking today, this story is so relevant and more important than ever.
This book was not a page turner and at times was difficult to read. Sometimes I had to put it down because the content was difficult and left me emotionally disturbed, but I continued to read because I needed and wanted to know what happened to these boys and if they ever saw justice and their families again. Stolen will touch so many hearts in so many ways, but it’s a story that must be told and I’m grateful to Richard Bell for telling it.
I want to thank publisher Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book Stolen by Richard Bell. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
May 26, 2021
Stolen tells the story of five boys kidnapped from Philadelphia in 1825 and forced to journey south to be sold into slavery. It is just one story of the "reverse Underground Railroad", the name for the groups of kidnappers who stole thousands of free Blacks from the north in the first six decades of the 1800s, and who sought to profit by selling them south to slavery. Children were especially targeted, as they were less likely to resist. Dozens of children were kidnapped from Philadelphia in 1825 alone. What sets the story of these five boys apart is that four of them made it back to freedom.
The author notes that by 1825 the Reverse Underground Railroad sold as many free Blacks into slavery as the Underground Railroad sheparded enslaved Blacks to freedom. Since the Reverse Underground Railroad was a criminal, though tolerated, enterprise, by design it left very few records of any kind, and thus very few individual stories can be told with any historical accuracy about it. Stolen makes use of available records around this one case to take us in depth and in detail through the kidnapping and journey these children took.
Last fall I read I've Got a Home in Glory Land which told the story of the flight from Kentucky of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn on the Underground Railroad to freedom in Toronto. Like that book, this one takes full advantage of the historical material available about their central figures to yield a well researched and well written story.
You will be gripped by the story of these boys' kidnappings, their harrowing journey south, the white men who interceded for them, and their amazing return to freedom to testify against their kidnappers. I rate Stolen 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I really liked this book. I was moved by the boys' story. I recommend it.
The author notes that by 1825 the Reverse Underground Railroad sold as many free Blacks into slavery as the Underground Railroad sheparded enslaved Blacks to freedom. Since the Reverse Underground Railroad was a criminal, though tolerated, enterprise, by design it left very few records of any kind, and thus very few individual stories can be told with any historical accuracy about it. Stolen makes use of available records around this one case to take us in depth and in detail through the kidnapping and journey these children took.
Last fall I read I've Got a Home in Glory Land which told the story of the flight from Kentucky of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn on the Underground Railroad to freedom in Toronto. Like that book, this one takes full advantage of the historical material available about their central figures to yield a well researched and well written story.
You will be gripped by the story of these boys' kidnappings, their harrowing journey south, the white men who interceded for them, and their amazing return to freedom to testify against their kidnappers. I rate Stolen 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I really liked this book. I was moved by the boys' story. I recommend it.
January 15, 2020
Interesting story about the Reverse Underground Railroad through which many free blacks were stolen from the North and sold into slavery in the Deep South. Bell explains the economic and legal atmosphere of the pre-Civil War US that made this such a lucrative and inevitable endeavor. Inevitable because when there is money to be made, bad people will do anything. This book follows the story of five boys, and two women, who were stolen and taken by boat, and then over land, into Mississippi to be sold. One of the boys awesome bravery sets in motion a chain of events that somehow ends up in the law "working" for these kids. It's not a happy ending in the broader sense. More brutality is to be done, and the Civil War and the end of slavery is yet to occur. But, this is an incident that I had personally never heard about and it this book brings to light events that were occurring in that time period that set the stage for the division of the US.
March 2, 2021
When the international slave trade was made illegal in the U.S. in 1808, the tobacco economy collapsed and cotton became king, the horrifying practice of kidnapping and "man-stealing" of free blacks began to fill the demand for slaves in the Deep South. Most of these human beings were marched by foot to places like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. This is the story of five boys who miraculously escaped/were rescued back to freedom and the improbable sequence of events that made it possible.
June 12, 2021
Stunning. I had a great school system, highly trained teachers. Did they ever mention the ban on foreign slaves? Or how that increased kidnapping amongst free blacks in the north? Or the Reverse Underground Railroad?
Whenever I think I've plunged to the depth of horror cause by white supremacy and patriarchy, I learn something else that is worse, more draped in invisibility cloaks, more horrific untold truth.
Whenever I think I've plunged to the depth of horror cause by white supremacy and patriarchy, I learn something else that is worse, more draped in invisibility cloaks, more horrific untold truth.
January 25, 2021
Haunting, true story of the Reverse Underground Railroad in the early 1800s from the streets of Philadelphia to Natchez, Mississippi. Five free African Americans are kidnapped and driven south by a husband and wife team whose evil is not to be described. The author relied on judicial record and newspaper clippings to piece together the events. Excellent read!
March 12, 2024
Very interesting, upsetting, enlightening story about which I was unaware. If you enjoy nonfiction, I recommend this book. I never knew that there was a reverse Underground Railroad or that it was in such wide use. I can only imagine the pain, as a parent, of finding that your “free” children were stolen off the street, never to be seen again.
July 7, 2020
An excellent read. Slavery was a heinous event. People choose what to believe. These people were stolen. People, both black and white, moved to ensure that the people were returned to their homes. This is a true story that reveals the nature of individuals both good and bad.
November 11, 2022
Very interesting, local connections
December 29, 2022
The Reverse Underground Railroad was, exactly as it sounds, a movement of people from free states into slave states prior to the Civil War. Stolen is an account of people who were caught in this traffic. In some areas, as southern Pennsylvania and in Delaware,
this was very common. Stolen tells of an organized gang, and focuses on five young boys who were kidnapped and sent on this “railroad.”
The book is well documented. It reads like a term paper. It is not a difficult read, however. The five boys were amongst the very unusual victims to escape their kidnapping.
As I often see in nonfiction, there are good people even in very bad times, who exist within in the midst of bad people.
this was very common. Stolen tells of an organized gang, and focuses on five young boys who were kidnapped and sent on this “railroad.”
The book is well documented. It reads like a term paper. It is not a difficult read, however. The five boys were amongst the very unusual victims to escape their kidnapping.
As I often see in nonfiction, there are good people even in very bad times, who exist within in the midst of bad people.
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