I have not read this book yet but have been corresponding with the author. I'm anxious to get a copy and thought some of you might be interested also! Karolyn Smardz Frost is a Toronto-born archaeologist and historian whose 1985 excavation of the Thornton and Lucie Blackburn site made history. I've Got a Home in Glory Land is the fruit of more than twenty years of historical detective work into this fugitive slave couple's dramatic escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad. Karolyn is the Executive Director of the Ontario Historical Society. She divides her time between her Collingwood, Ontario, home and an oceanfront cottage on Nova Scotia's South Shore. Synopsis of the book: "It was the day before Independence Day, 1831. As his bride, Lucie, was about to be "sold down the river" to the slave markets of New Orleans, young Thornton Blackburn planned a daring-and successful-daylight escape from Louisville. But they were discovered by slave catchers in Michigan and slated to return to Kentucky in chains, until the black community rallied to their cause. The Blackburn Riots of 1833 was the first racial uprising in Detroit history. The couple was spirited across the river to Canada, but their safety proved illusory. In June 1833, Michigan's governor demanded their extradition. The Blackburn case was the first serious legal dispute between Canada and the United States regarding the Underground Railroad. The impassioned defense of the Blackburns by Canada's lieutenant governor set precedents for all future fugitive-slave cases. The Blackburns settled in Toronto and founded the city's first taxi business. But they never forgot the millions who still suffered in slavery. Working with prominent abolitionists, Thornton and Lucie made their home a haven for runaways. The Blackburns died in the 1890s, and their fascinating tale was lost to history. Lost, that is, until a chance archaeological discovery in a downtown Toronto school yard brought the story of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn again to light." It's a real Kentucky story and the information about the lives of fugitive slaves Thornton and Lucie Blackburn came largely from historical societies, courthouses, libraries, archives and other repositories in Kentucky. There will be personal appearances, readings and book signings as shown below: Sunday, March 4, 3 pm LEXINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 140 E Main St. Board Room, 5th Fl Lexington, KY 40507 Wednesday March 7, 3 pm UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE History Department Gottschalk Hall 303 Louisville, KY (502) 852-6817 Thursday March 8, 11 am GEORGETOWN COLLEGE Underground Railroad Research Institute Ascher Science Center, rm 112 Georgetown, KY Contact: Gina Putthoff (502) 863-2203 Thursday, March 8, 5:00 pm FILSON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1310 South Third Street Louisville, KY 40208 Contact: Ashley Graves graves@filsonhistorical.org Saturday, March 10, 1:00 pm NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER 50 East Freedom Way Cincinnati, OH 45202 Contact: Tracey Tisdale-Richardson 513.333.7500 TRichardson@nurfc.org Sunday March 11, 2 pm UNION TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY, RIPLEY BRANCH 27 Main Street Ripley, OH 45167 Contact: Alison Gibson 937-392-4871 Sandi SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html GGP: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/