{"product_id":"the-pursuit-of-a-dream-janet-sharp-hermann-9781578061297","title":"The Pursuit of a Dream","description":"\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, the McLemore Prize of the Mississippi Historical Society, and the Silver Medal of the Commonwealth Club of California\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOriginally published in 1981, this fascinating history set in the Reconstruction South is a testament to African American resilience, fortitude, and independence. It tells of three attempts to create an ideal community on the river bottom lands at Davis Bend south of Vicksburg. There Joseph Davis's effort to establish a cooperative community among the slaves on his plantation was doomed to fail as long as they remained in bondage. During the Civil War, the Yankees tried with limited success to organize the freedmen into a model community without trusting them to manage their own affairs. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e After the war, the intrepid Benjamin Montgomery and his family bought the land from Davis and established a very prosperous colony of their fellow freedmen. Their success at Davis Bend occurred when blacks were accorded the opportunity to pursue the American dream relatively free from the discrimination that prevailed in most of society. It is a story worthy of celebration. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Janet Sharp Hermann writes here of two men--Joseph Davis, the slaveholder and brother of the president of the Confederacy, and Benjamin Montgomery, an educated freedman. In 1866 Montgomery began the experiment at Davis Bend.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Janet Sharp Hermann\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1578061296\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781578061297\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 312\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.86lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.21h x 5.49w x 0.92d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eUniv PR Books for Public Libry\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2000 pg. 111 - Strongly Recommended","brand":"Janet Sharp Hermann","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43991623762175,"sku":"9781578061297","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5a291d69-9c53-4a05-aa70-1951f2f98496.jpg?v=1683311326","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-pursuit-of-a-dream-janet-sharp-hermann-9781578061297","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}