Foner, probably America's most prolific and perceptive writer on Afro-American history, has produced a biting, massive, sometimes even encyclopedic, narrative of black life and culture after 1820. . . . Foner concludes that oppression was [the slaves'] lot but resistance was their legacy. In so doing, he rejects recent arguments that plantation slavery operated as a paternalistic system or that radical abolitionists were visionaries. A book of exhaustive research, fairness, and intellectual sweep. Highly recommended for public and university libraries."-Library Journal