The Hairstons [J0154]

1999 - HCDJ. Ex-library book in nice clean condition. A National Book Critics Circle Award Winner. This 'lovingly detailed history' chronicles the largest slaveholding family in the Old South, as its descendants—white and Black—grapple with its legacy (The Dallas Morning News). Spanning two centuries of one family's history, The Hairstons tells the extraordinary story of the Hairston clan, once the wealthiest family in the Old South and the largest slaveholder in America. With several thousand black and white members, the Hairstons of today share a complex and compelling history: divided in the time of slavery, they have come to embrace their past as one family. For seven years, journalist Henry Wiencek combed the far-reaching branches of the Hairston family tree to piece together the experiences of both plantation owners and their slaves. Crisscrossing the old plantation country of Virginia, North Carolina, and Mississippi, The Hairstons reconstructs the triumphant rise of the remarkable children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the enslaved as they fought to take their rightful place in mainstream America. It also follows the white descendants through the decline and fall of the Old South, and uncovers the hidden history of slavery's curse—and how that curse followed slaveholders for generations.

From recent-ish Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This was a truly insightful read. Parts may have been a bit slow, but Henry Wiencek's thoroughness in his research and impartiality shines through. Now more than ever, it's important to understand the legacy of slavery and how it shapes prejudices from the past, in the present and the future. This is a compelling family story with black and white descendants. It's fascinating to read about both the trials & triumphs that they lived through.", "Well-researched and very detailed.", "A hard look at American slavery in the context of the family of one of this country's largest slave holding concerns. A complicated story of exploitive and uneven interdependence infused with the full spectrum of human sentiment."