Cover Image

Song yet sung

March, 1850. In the tense days before the Civil War, a slave breakout in the labyrinthine swamps of Maryland's eastern shore sets loose a riveting drama of violence, hope, and redemption among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves, and free blacks. Liz Spocott, a beautiful...

Full description

Main Author: McBride, James, 1957-
Other Authors: Uggams, Leslie.
Format: Audiobooks eAudiobook Downloads eAudiobook
Language: English
Published: New York : Books on Tape, 2008.
Edition: Unabridged.
Subjects:
Visions > Fiction.
Maryland > Fiction.
Downloadable audio books.
Historical fiction > Maryland.
Online Access: Go to Downloadable Audiobook Here.
Summary: March, 1850. In the tense days before the Civil War, a slave breakout in the labyrinthine swamps of Maryland's eastern shore sets loose a riveting drama of violence, hope, and redemption among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves, and free blacks. Liz Spocott, a beautiful runaway slave, shot and near death, is wracked by disturbing visions of the future as she lies shackled to an old woman in the prison attic of the notorious female slave-trader Patty Cannon and her gang. The ancient nameless woman reveals "the Code," a fiercely guarded cryptic means of communication for slaves on the run. Armed with an array of words that she does not understand, Liz escapes once again, but now must evade an enraged Patty Cannon and a new nemesis, Denwood Long-a troubled slave catcher and waterman, who is coaxed out of retirement to break the Code. As she makes her desperate run, Liz is thrust upon the denizens of the swampy peninsula: the handsome slave Amber, the terrifyingly wild Woolman, the widowed Kathleen Sullivan. Meanwhile Liz's extraordinary dreams of tomorrow create a freedom-seeking furor among the once complacent slave community. The mysterious disappearance of two children, one white and one black, seeds an explosive ending. Filled with rich history-much of the story is drawn from historical events-and told in McBride's signature lyrical style, SONG YET SUNG brings into full view a world long misunderstood in American fiction. This is a story of tragic triumph, violent decisions, and unexpected kindness. From the Compact Disc edition.
Item Description: Unabridged.
Physical Description: 1 online resource (9 audio files) : digital
Playing Time: 10::4:4:
Format: Requires OverDrive Listen (file size: N/A KB) or OverDrive app (file size: 302571 KB).
ISBN: 9781415948613
Author Notes: James McBride studied composition at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and received a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. He was a staff writer for The Boston Globe, People Magazine, and The Washington Post. His works include the memoir The Color of Water, the biography Kill 'Em and Leave, and two novels entitled Miracle at St. Anna and Song Yet Sung. He wrote the screenplay for Miracle at St. Anna when it was made into a movie in 2008. He won the National Book Award for The Good Lord Bird.

He is a saxophonist and former sideman for jazz legend Jimmy Scott. He has written songs for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr., Gary Burton, and Barney, the PBS television character. He received the Stephen Sondheim Award and the Richard Rodgers Foundation Horizon Award for his musical Bo-Bos co-written with playwright Ed Shockley. In 2005, he published the first volume of a CD-based documentary about life as lived by low-profile jazz musicians entitled The Process. He is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Similar Items