Book Review: The Road to Freedom by Charles Cobb Jr.

ISBN: 1565124391
Published: January 15th, 2008
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Read from September 18th to 21st, 2014
Synopsis from Goodreads:

This in-depth look at the civil rights movement goes to the places where pioneers of the movement marched, sat-in at lunch counters, gathered in churches; where they spoke, taught, and organized; where they were arrested, where they lost their lives, and where they triumphed.
Award-winning journalist Charles E. Cobb Jr., a former organizer and field secretary for SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), knows the journey intimately. He guides us through Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, back to the real grassroots of the movement. He pays tribute not only to the men and women etched into our national memory but to local people whose seemingly small contributions made an impact. We go inside the organizations that framed the movement, travel on the "Freedom Rides" of 1961, and hear first-person accounts about the events that inspired Brown vs. Board of Education.
An essential piece of American history, this is also a useful travel guide with maps, photographs, and sidebars of background history, newspaper coverage, and firsthand interviews.

Review:

This book is fantastic. It's a travel book and a history book at the same time. It takes each southern state chapter-by-chapter and focuses on the history of various places that you can visit that were significant to the civil rights movement. Everyone should be warned that there is a lot of history in this book. There's more history than there is the typical travel book kind of stuff. I really enjoyed that because not only do I enjoy history, but I think understanding the history of these various places is what makes them so great to visit.

I really loved learning things about the civil rights movement that I never knew before, and I honestly think this book is great for absolutely everyone. Even if you're not planning a trip to any of the places mentioned, it is a great book to read just for the history in it. I'd highly recommend it. That being said, I also really want to plan a trip to all of the different places talked about because I think they'd be great to see.