A fresh biography of this iconic American—and the first involving a Tubman family member since Harriet herself was interviewed in 1886.
For all Harriet Tubman’s accomplishments and the myriad books written about her, many gaps, errors, and misconceptions of her life persist. One such fallacy is that Sarah H. (Hopkins) Bradford is to blame for having omitted information in Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People and ending the second book too soon. It is the family's opinion that, due to Tubman’s physical disability resulting from a head injury she incurred as a child, she was unable to complete the necessary lengthy interview process with Sarah and properly flesh out the work.
Harriet Tubman: Military Spy and Tenacious Visionary sets out to rectify these omissions. The time is long overdue as recognition and fervor over Tubman’s remarkable contributions to American history and civil liberty continues to escalate with hundreds of statues and tributes appearing each year in her honor around the nation. New York State celebrates Harriet Tubman Day on March 10—since she was born on an unknown date in this month and died on this day—and Maryland honors her on September 17, which has become known as Emancipation Day. Not only has Tubman’s likeness appeared on U.S. stamps, but her visage has appeared on currency and wshe will be the first woman and person of color to appear on printed paper currency in this country.
But just who was this remarkable woman? We might know the outlines of her story, but the deep research of Jean Marie Wiesen and rich family memory of Rita Daniels combine to form a nuanced and vibrant portrait of a histoic figure we all thought we knew. Ranging Harriet's ancestry in Ghana to the efforts over generations to preserve and project her legacy, Harriet Tubman is an inspiring and illuminating portrait of a key figure in history.
