Harriet Tubman

About this book

A revolutionary portrait of Harriet Tubman--told with the voice of history and the authority of family. Harriet Tubman is one of the most iconic figures in American history. Yet much of her true story has remained fragmented, misunderstood, or deliberately incomplete. While countless books recount her courage on the Underground Railroad, none have fully explored the breadth of her strategic brilliance, her documented role as a Union Army scout and spy, or the African ancestry that shaped her extraordinary character. Harriet Tubman: Military Scout and Tenacious Visionary sets out to correct the record -- permanently. Drawing on rare oral history passed through generations of the Tubman family -- made possible through Rita Daniels, Tubman's great-great-great-grandniece -- alongside deep archival research, Wiesen restores depth, truth, and humanity to a story that history has long fragmented for political convenience. Inside, readers will discover: How a childhood head injury silenced Tubman in early biographical interviews -- and why the omissions persisted for over a century The full scope of her ancestral roots in Ghana among the Ashanti people -- the heritage that forged her strength Her documented role as a Union Army scout, spy, and military strategist -- arguably the most underrepresented chapter of her life Her tireless postwar activism: as a suffragist, community organizer, and founder of the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged A fully corrected biographical narrative, informed by family oral history and newly examined archival evidence Praised by The New York Times Book Review as a biography that 'sheds light on Tubman's contributions to the Union Army and her later activism, ' and by Kirkus Reviews for granting 'authoritative history and authentic humanity, ' this is the definitive modern account of one of history's most consequential leaders.