"The Princeton Fugitive Slave" was a good read if a bit dry. I didn't know anything about James Collins Johnson before reading this and I found myself engrossed in his story. Certainly a good read about slavery, Princeton's complicity in it and the life of a man finally not told through the eyes of the white elite but instead through historical records.

I was disappointed in this book. The material is good, the topic needed, but it felt disjointed. At times it seemed more like a report . #goodreads

This is largely a scholarly work, bereft of the novelist's techniques to enliven history. Still, it is an engaging and enlightening tail bringing together the faint threads of evidence on a life's arc from fleeing slavery in Maryland to a life on the margins vending and butlering to a largely uncaring student body in Princeton. This is a fascinating, illustrative, and educational biography.

This book sheds light on the past, both historically and legally. The fact that this is a true story makes it even more poignant. This could assist older students to understand some of the complexity of slavery and the law at the time.

Lolita Buckner Inniss has written an interesting book on a previously unknown figure while at the same time telling an interesting story on Princeton's complicity in institution of slavery.

Received through Net Gallery! What a life this man had! All the things that he had to go through to gain his freedom then for people to try and take it away from him! Such a well researched story and the characters you get to know as if you were there with then when this was going on! The writing keeps you so interested that you just don't want the story to end. Horrible what the slaves had to go through and why take away their freedom when they are already free! I'm so glad I didn't live back in this time,I would have been in so much trouble fighting for the slaves and I'm from the South! Wonderful story,wonderful reading,wonderful writing!!

Absolutely remarkable! A study in courage and a must-read in African-American history. I enjoyed learning about James Collins very much! I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

In The Princeton Fugitive Slave: The Trials of James Collins Johnson, Lolita Buckner Inness writes an historically accurate account of a slave who escaped Maryland and settled in Princeton, NJ. Since the author had access to the Princeton University archives as well as other resources, Lolita Buckner Inness is able to include many interesting anecdotes of both Johnson’s work at what is now Princeton University and the political climate of the times. It’s a thought provoking book that allows us a glimpse of the past and the legal issues involved. When a Princeton student recognizes Johnson s an escaped slave, Johnson’s trial and resolution bring out the complexity of the legal issues. This book should be required reading in every course on American history.

The book is very technical, and a lot of research facts were included into the book. Although some of what was presented is limited as usual because not everything was able to be written down about what some of our ancestors went through, it was very interesting and thought provoking read. I enjoyed it very much.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lolita Bucker Inniss's 'The Princeton Fugitive Slave' is a masterful text about race, power, and antebellum Black life in the Northeast and the South. By reconstructing James Collins Johnson's life, Buckner Inniss shows us how we may fully engage the interiority of the enslaved and formerly enslaved without falling prey to the myths and biases that permeate archival records. I absolutely enjoyed this text, both as a historical narrative and also as a lesson on archival reading and analysis.

This was such an interesting read about a man that faced so many setbacks in life, including slavery and a trial to determine if he would have to be a slave again after gaining freedom. I found this to be well-researched and well-written. I highly recommend it!