Deeply researched and beautifully written ... Last Seen is not a romanticized history. Giesberg forces readers to sit with the trauma of separation and the callousness of White supremacy. But equally, if not more, important is her tender human reminder that the love parents and siblings and children had for their family members never waned ... This history deserves to be read widely, taught carefully and preserved indefinitely.
She has done diligent research using census data and other sources ... From the joy of reunion to the despair of never finding loved ones, from the jubilation surrounding emancipation to the failures of Reconstruction, these books capture the mixed legacies of the post-Civil War era in dramatic and compelling ways.
In Last Seen, Judith Giesberg provides a powerful way to understand the crime of slavery and, just as importantly, the enduring strength and faith of families.
Instead of happy endings, these ads offer readers something else: they serve as portals into 'the lived experience of slavery' ... Throughout Last Seen
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Expertly utilizes an archive ... Based on a unique set of sources, this heart-wrenching work should be read by all focused on enslavement studies as well as American and Civil War history.
