"A marvel of scholarship         and artistry. The general reader will be fascinated to discover the vitality         of the free black community that Langston moved and moved in." --         Joyce Appleby, University of California       "Provides the mirror         in which to reflect Langston's brilliant, turbulent career, as well as         the nation's ongoing struggle against racism. Life-and-times biography         could be put to no better use." -- David W. Blight, Journal of         American History       "One of the most thorough         studies ever done of a nineteenth-century black American. [It] will be         the standard." -- J. M. Matthews, Choice       "Breaks new and important         ground in the field of African-American history. . . . [It] is both a         social history of the period and the remarkable story of Langston's formative         life and career as a free black Ohioan in pre-Civil War America."         -- David C. Dennard, Journal of Southern History       "A sensitive biography         of a black leader and a full-scale history of the society in which he         matured and began his career." -- John B. Boles, American Historical         Review       "The Cheeks have masterfully         performed . . . their chief task--the transformation of autobiography         into social history." -- Wilson J. Moses, Reviews in American         History  A volume in the series         Blacks in the New World, edited by August Meier and John H. Bracey