Incredible book! I couldn’t stop listening. The history was so interesting and the author so thorough or clearly defined where there might be limitations to her research. I can’t wait to share this with other readers.

Overground Railroad
Candacy Taylor

Candacy Taylor chronicles the history of The Green also known as the bible for the Black traveler in America. In 1936 NYC mailman Victor Hugo Green created this guide for blacks who traveled the highways and byways of Jim Crow America listing all black friendly restaurants, lodging, gas stations and other travel necessities. With the rise of the African-American middle-class and more blacks being able to own cars also meant freedom from traveling on public transportation where they were put in uncomfortable train cars, the back of the bus and often left on the side of the road when the drivers said there was no room for them.
As a side-line Taylor tells the nightmare stories of many black Americans who attempted travel during these times many of them losing their lives. She tells about returning WWII black Vets who hoped they would finally be treated equally on the rails and the roads after defending their country from the tyranny of Hitler only to come home and find tyranny from those who they fought for. She also shares with the audience her stepfather’s personal and often tragic stories about traveling Black in America from childhood through adulthood, unfortunately he died from complications of his exposure to Agent Orange when he served in Vietnam.

This book should be required reading for all high school students because every American needs to know the real history of America warts and all and not the propaganda we’ve all been force-fed in the past. Lovers of the true history of America, memoirs, civil-rights, African-American non-fiction and historical non-fiction will find this important book an integral part of their personal libraries. Buy the book and then share it, pass it on!


Narration:
Overground Railroad is narrated by Lisa Renee Pitts and while she has a clear clean voice this book is too important a work for her at times emotionless recitation.
This book instead deserves a fabulous narrator one who could have injected the right amount of emotion, regret and anger the book documents.

This is an amazing book I read it a year ago, but to listen to it in audio was absolutely amazing. This should be required reading and I have recommend it to everyone. Thank you, Abrams Press for this gifted copy.

As someone who didn't learn anything about segregation in school (in Germany), this was very educational. I just wish I could've seen the pictures that are in the print version (I only listened to the audiobook).

While I find the topics in this book important, I feel there should almost be two books. I really love reading history and learning. I found the historical parts of this book well worth a read and I learned a ton. However, I felt more of the books was focused on Taylor's personal views. While I did not mind listening to them, it was not what I was expecting from this book when I selected it. I feel her views on these subjects would actually make a very interesting lecture, seminar, webinar, etc.

So while the book was interesting it was not what I was expecting from the cover, title, and description.

Lisa Renee Pitts is a fantastic narrator. I found her articulation so strong and I could feel so much emotion and power with each word she spoke. I would easily listen to another book narrated by her.

I received an advanced audiobook from Tantor Audio through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

What an amazing book!!!! The irony is that I listened to this mostly during a car trip! I have long been fascinated with the story of Black Travel. As a Black woman who travels widely, I had never really known the danger, of travelling while Black during Jim Crow. I love how the innovations created out of necessity are still at play. I am eager to see the print copy, as I would like to see pictures and other graphics. Bravo!

THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE READ.

I loved everything about this story of how African Americans used various modes of transportation as a means to escape bigotry, racism, and to expand across the United States. I've heard of the Green Book and how important it was to African Americans who were navigating the expanding United States.

I loved the mix of personal anecdotes from Taylor to the historical information about the development of the Green Book to its rise of prominence within the Black community. What's interesting is that despite the advancement of travel and of Black people no longer needing the Green Book we are still facing similar challenges to those explored during the initial days of the book.

Sorry, I thought I would not be able to listen and review this title, but t still appears on my bookshelf on my NG app, It may be due to me sampling the start of the narrator. I will update my review once I finish listening to it (over my holiday break).

thank you

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Great read, learned a lot of interesting things

It is important to learn from history to get a better understanding of where society is at today. The year 2020 has helped shine a spot light on our continued need for equal treatment of all people. Overground Railroad talks about a very specific niche of Black history in America. Starting in the 1930's and continuing for several decades, the Green Book was published letting Black travelers know which businesses supported and welcomed Black people. This was important in a time when Jim Crow was very much still in effect and Sundown Towns were a thing. Black people could have been in danger if they wandered into the wrong town after dark.

The author did an excellent job of relaying the history of the Green Book and how it related to the cultural landscape at the time. I highly recommend this book to American History buffs or anyone interested in doing some anti-racist reading.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was engaging and definitely captured my attention throughout.

This has been an excellent book to listen to thanks to the audibly enthusiastic narrator. For someone with white privilege, this was an essential book that showed the extent of difficulties, considerations and danger that blank people could encounter on their travels by car whether in the past or even today. The author conducted painstaking research over the course of many years, travelling across the US to visit the Green Book sites, which is very impressive. Many sites no longer stand today and the book does cover the reasons why. Highly recommended.

This book is both enjoyable and informative. It tracks the entire history of the Green Book travel guide that many in the Black community used during the Jim Crow era to safely travel. The Green Book had evolved so much over the time it was in production, and Taylor expertly details this evolution, while also bringing testimony from those who’ve used the book to travel in the past. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Black history that schools don’t teach.

*uncorrected proof provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I'm really struggling with how to rate this book. On one hand it's a VERY important topic, so I immediately want to give it 5 stars. We need books that push boundaries and we need to be made uncomfortable if we're going to see changes in our world today. On the other hand, I felt like the author of this book spent more time about their own political opinions and beliefs. I think the CONCEPT of this book is great, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me as I felt I was listening to a lecture on one's personal opinions, instead of learning about history and how we can use that knowledge to better today.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for kindly providing me with a digital audio copy of this book for review.
Well that just blew my mind! I had been totally ignorant of what the Green book was until I listened to this fantastic audiobook. I’ve been making a concerted effort to read more into black history and even after reading a fair bit now, and think i can’t be shocked anymore, along comes a book like this and I’m opened up to new levels of awareness and disbelief that these events could and did happen. And again it highlights the very real presence of white privilege that a lot of the situations outlined and faced by the people in this book, just would never even be a consideration in a white person. For example, many black men used to carry a chauffeur’s cap in their cars so they could pretend they were driving their employer’s car, not their own car- which reduced the possibility of them getting stopped by the police and any repercussions from that.
I do feel I’ve had quite an education listening to this and I found it fascinating. The narrator does a fabulous job and really brought this piece of non fiction to life. I highly recommend.

Overground Railroad, by Candacy Taylor is nothing short of earth-shattering.
This immediate classic, released on Tantor Audio at the end of September 2020, was originally released in hardback the previous January.
In Overground Railroad, Taylor tells the story of being alive while black through the creation of the Green Book, a black traveler's annual guide that directed scared, mistreated, and degraded travelers throughout the country. The Green Book was a collection of black-owned and black-friendly businesses that welcomed their company.
Created by Victor Hugo Green in 1936, the Green Books captured a time in America when racism was overtly observed, often legal, expected and enforced.
Within the covers of the Green Book, travelers could find black-owned restaurants, gas stations, and hotels. Green held a lifelong dedication to the Green Book's publication, imploring travelers to carry it because "You might just need it."
To further prove that dedication, throughout its publication, Green worked full time as a mail carrier and made little more money on the Green Book than it cost to produce.
Candacy covers black travelers' subjection to Jim Crow Laws, sundowner towns and miles upon miles of nowhere to obtain gas or eat food.
Heartbreaking to listen to on audio, this author enlightens its readers to the reality of the time and the great compromises black travelers were forced to make because of their skin color.
Taylor tells the stories of black soldiers denied the simple respect of driving peacefully through the country they served during times of war and the nationwide group of black-owned businesses who provided safe shelter to those soldiers and all other black travelers who took to the roads.
Narrated by Lisa Reneé Pitts, Overground Railroad is an eye-opening non-fiction classic regardless of how the reader consumes its' information.
Pitts is authentic in her narration and able to emphasize Candacy's words in times of necessity.
Overground Railroad is an honest, stark education to readers and a perfect way to share the humiliating plight of black travelers with readers of all ages.
Overground Railroad would be particularly helpful in high school classrooms as required reading. Its honesty is the perfect jumping-off point for conversation, communication, and understanding. Taylor's story-telling is real and unsheltered.
Overground Railroad, regardless of what form you choose to embrace, is a read well worth reader's time. But beware, you might just learn your own great grandparents and grandparents wielded the heavy hands of that racism generations before you were born.

Very enjoyable audio on the history of The Green Book from its creation to his development through the years. What I enjoyed the most were the little stories throughout: family businesses, celebrities being regulars as businesses mentioned in the Green Book, and of course all the historical events --some of which I knew, others I never heard of --which allowed me to close gaps in my knowledge of African American history.

I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more African American History, especially facts that cannot be found in mainstream History books.

Thank you Net Galley and Unabridged for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

From 1936 to 1966, the Green Book, self-published by Victor Green, was considered the “black travel guide to America,” letting black people know where it was safe for them to eat, stay, and buy gas while they were traveling across the country. In this book, Candacy Taylor celebrates the courage of the business owners who advertised in the Green Book, as well as filling in the history of how black people were treated in these years.

Taylor did a great deal of research to gather the facts in this book and has created a compelling, if at times hard to stomach, book. Taylor included many individual's experiences with using or being listed in the Green Book. This book showed that while racism and segregation were primarily thought of as a southern problem, it did in fact exist around the country. Lisa Renee Pitts did a fabulous job narrating the audiobook. While this book did highlight some ways that America has become a safer place for people of color, it also highlighted ways we have so far to go. This was a powerful read (listen), and I would recommend it to all Americans or citizens of other countries who are interested in American history and race issues.

I'd never heard of the "Green Book" before listening to this audiobook. As someone who loves to travel, this was valuable for me to learn about. It's easy for me to say that I couldn't imagine living in the times where this book is necessary. Fast forward to the present, and much to Taylor's point, things haven't really changed too much.

I love the connections of the "Green Book" to the present-day. That was an unexpected surprise for me. To have the notion to follow the guide to find these businesses is just amazing. I loved this audiobook!

Imagine wanting to go on a trip and having to pack petrol, lots of food, blankets, pillows, towels, water for drinking and washing... and not knowing where it was SAFE for you to stop. Could you buy petrol? Food? Use the toilet?

For several decades the Green Book listed safe places for black people to travel in America and was a staple no one left home without. This is a history of the book Victor Hugo Green envisioned and printed for decades.

Now there is no Green Book, and yet it is still unsafe to be black and live in America, and what can be done about it.

4.5 stars.

Extremely interesting & quite frankly, a necessary book that everyone should have to read (or listen to). I really didn’t know much of anything about the Green Book until I looked it up upon hearing there was going to be a movie with the same title a couple years back. It completely took me by surprise, because I hadn’t ever thought about how bad traveling must have been for Blacks back then - though given our terrible history, I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was. I just had no idea. This book really delves into just HOW bad it was and how necessary the Green Book was for Black travelers. I found it to be a great listen & the narrator, Lisa Reneé Pitts did an incredible job. The only thing I wish I had, was access to the pictures in the hardcover copy. But besides that, it was great.

Thank you to Tantor Audio & NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.