Jim Mueller and other officials of the National Park Service at Independence Mall in Philadelphia sought out scholars of the abolition movement in Philadelphia (with many of this volume's essays first presented at the 2005 Society for Historians of the Early American Republic meeting in Philadelphia), in order to increase the public profile of the significant black history sites recently discovered on the Mall. The result is a fine volume of nine essays that delve into Philadelphia's role in slavery and emancipation, written by accomplished scholars, including Richard Newman (Rochester Institute of Technology), Ira Berlin (U. of Maryland), David Waldstreicher (Temple U.), Julie Winch (U. of Massachusetts, Boston), and Elizabeth Varon (U. of Virginia). Of interest to specialists, the book will be of profound interest to the general reader, as it's filled with compelling accounts in connection to the various themes, such as the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, the day-to-day realities of being black in late 18th-century Philadelphia, and the specific arguments used for and against slavery, including those of Benjamin Franklin. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)