Walkin the Line: A Journey from Past to Present Along the Mason-Dixon
by By Ecenbarger, William
Category: History , United States , General

Ecenbarger walks that Line created between 1763 and 1768 to settle a dispute between the Penns of Pennsylvania and Lord Calvert, whose family owned what is now Maryland. Most of the author's sources are text-based, but he does chat with or interview people on his journeys, providing a kind of up-to-the-moment history of that fine line between North and South, between non-slave and slave-owning states. As the Pulitzer-Prize winning author walks, he describes what he sees, incorporates it into his research, and often quotes a local source. For example: "In some churches they would have a piece of wood hanging from the ceiling that was a certain shade of brown. If you were that shade or lighter, you could go in. But if you were darker, you couldn't worship there." No index, notes, or bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)