Slavery was evil and despicable. Any reasonable person would agree. Scott Shane's Flee North adds a new adjective, messy.

Flee North mostly follows the daring adventures of former slave, Thomas Smallwood and his literal partner in crime, Charles Torrey. Both men would actively help slaves flee north towards safer environments in increasingly dangerous ways that would put both men's lives in danger. This conceit is enough for a great book, but what takes it to the next level is Shane's parsing out of just how many different viewpoints came into conflict during this time. Abolitionists were not all the same. Many people understand that, but Shane highlights those major differences while holding up both Smallwood and Torrey as heroes who were not always the easiest to get along with. Everyone could fall under the term, "abolitionist" but they were not all attempting to reach the same goal.

This book is a great read for someone who wants to leave more about the nitty gritty of the Mason-Dixon line during the time of slavery. It adds a tremendous amount of detail that most books skip right over.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Celadon Books.)