If flying high in the sky with ducks and digging into the earth’s floral depths isn’t quite what you had in mind, how about a trip back in time? Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad is the first-ever written account of the Quilt Code used by slaves. At a chance meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, quiltmaker Ozella McDaniel Williams told author Jacqueline Tobin about slaves who would color- and pattern-code their quilts (for most slaves could neither read nor write) as a way to communicate to other slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. Co-authored by Dr. Raymond G. Dobard, who provides historical foundation to Williams’s story, Hidden in Plain View recounts an intricate web of navigation, communication, and courage. Includes color photographs and drawings of the various patterns, colors, and fabrics used in this unique mapping system.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
