Leonard Pitts, Jr. reading 8 minutes from his historical romance novel "Freeman" at McIntyre's Books in Pittsboro NC. Reading is taken from FREEMAN as the main character Sam Freeman is leaving Washington DC when he is confronted by white soldiers. Sam Freeman and his traveling partner Ben/Shine on the bridge near DC. Share this video with friends! Share, comment and repost: http://youtu.be/DOEqaztvO2Y
Freeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam--a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army--decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. What compels him on this almost-suicidal course is the desire to find his wife, the mother of his only child, whom he was forced to leave behind 15 years earlier on the Mississippi farm to which they all "belonged."
Freeman is a love story--sweeping, generous, brutal, compassionate, patient--about the feelings people were determined to honor, despite the enormous constraints of the times. It is this aspect of the book that should ensure it a strong, vocal, core audience of African-American women, who will help propel its likely critical acclaim to a wider audience. At the same time, this book addresses several themes that are still hotly debated today, some 145 years after the official end of the Civil War.
Freeman illuminates the times and places it describes from a fresh perspective, with stunning results. It has the potential to become a classic addition to the literature dealing with this period.
Few other novels so powerfully capture the pathos and possibility of the era particularly as it reflects the ordeal of the black slaves grappling with the promise--and the terror--of their new status as free men and women. Listen to the audiopostcard here: http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/CljSPgzs
Order FREEMAN by Leonard Pitts Jr.
(Historical fiction)
ISBN-10: 1932841644
ISBN-13: 978-1932841640
http://www.amazon.com/Freeman-Leonard-Pitts-Jr/dp/1932841644
Leonard Pitts Jr. won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004. He is the author of the novel, Before I Forget. His column runs every Sunday and Wednesday. Forward From This Moment, a collection of his columns, was released in 2009. Leonard also wrote the 2008 series I Am A Man, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. Visit Leonard Pitts Jr. at his website: www.leonardpittsjr.com
Read Leonard Pitts Jr.'s entire column at the Miami Herald.
http://www.miamiherald.com/leonard_pitts
