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From the Books

Free sample stories & chapters from books about the Delmarva Peninsula by Secrets of the Eastern Shore.

Ship of Zion Harriet Tubman
From the BooksTubman TravelsWay Back Machine

A TUBMAN TALE: “The Good Ol’ Ship of Zion” (Christmas Escape, Part 1)

‘The Good Ol' Ship of Zion' is an excerpt from my book, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva. It's one of three chapters in the book devoted to one of the most famous of the escapes engineered by conductor Harriet Tubman. Each chapter in the book is a self-contained story that's linked to a place you can visit today in Delaware or on Maryland’s Eastern…
December 5, 2019
Tubman Travels Book Cover Art
From the BooksTubman TravelsWay Back Machine

TUBMAN TRAVELS Book Excerpt: Kessiah Bowley’s Flight From The Auction Block

‘Flight From the Auction Block’ is an excerpt from my book, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva. Each chapter in the book is a self-contained story from those Underground Railroad days. Each story is linked to a place you can visit today in Delaware or on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, but they are also perfectly fit for armchair reading in the comfort of your home. …
November 19, 2019
Harriet Tubman Escape: "One More Soul Got Safe!"
From the BooksTubman TravelsWay Back Machine

TUBMAN TRAVELS BOOK EXCERPT: ‘One More Soul Got Safe!’

'One More Soul Got Safe!' is an excerpt from my book, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva. Each chapter in the book is a self-contained story from those Underground Railroad days. Each story is linked to a place you can visit today in Delaware or on Maryland's Eastern Shore, but they are also perfectly fit for armchair reading in the comfort of your…
November 10, 2019
Tubman Travels: Harriet's Escape
From the BooksTubman TravelsWay Back Machine

TUBMAN TRAVELS: ‘I’m Sorry I’m Gwine to Lebe You’

This excerpt from the Secrets of the Eastern Shore book, Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva, tells the story of Harriet Tubman's own run for freedom in September of 1849.  More information about the book, including where to buy it in stores and online, is available here. BIG PICTURE: Strangers in a Strange Land The first time I went looking for Red Bridges Road…
September 12, 2019
The New Hoopers Island Bridge
From the BooksQuote of the Day

QUOTE OF THE DAY: A ‘Monument to Man’s Stupidity’ at the Hooper’s Island Bridge

This excerpt from Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva is a bonus section that comes at the end of a road trip chock full of backroads adventuring through remote South Dorchester County, Md. and out to remote Taylors Island and Hoopers Island. The story of how the modern Hoopers Island bridge came into existence is a tale of politics and bureaucracy.…
September 4, 2019
The Big Quarterly in Wilmington, Delaware
From the BooksQuote of the DayWay Back Machine

QUOTE OF THE DAY, 1930s: ‘The Big Quarterly is a day of joy, gladness, and freedom’

Follow in the footsteps of American heroes. Click on the cover for info. This book excerpt below is from Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva. It comes from a chapter that has you strolling alongside the pretty and historic Christina River as it runs through downtown Wilmington, Del. I am posting this a few days before the 2019 edition of…
August 21, 2019
From the BooksWay Back Machine

WAY BACK MACHINE: The Rough & Tumble Preachers in Revolutionary Times

This excerpt from Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva is one brief part of a chapter focused on history-laden Accomac, Va., which has a gorgeous old town square and side street full of sweet old houses and beautiful gardens. When the Revolutionary War broke out, most Methodist ministers fled back to England, fearing for their safety. Francis Asbury was not the fleeing…
August 8, 2019
Tilghman Packing Company on Tilghman Island
From the BooksRoad Trips

ROAD TRIPS 2 EXCERPT: Boom Times on Tilghman Island

This is an excerpt from Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva: During those boom times, oyster shells were discarded off of Tilghman Island in such volume that they soon congealed into an island that would grow large enough to house a store, a post office, and, eventually, the storied Tilghman Packing Company. You can catch of glimpse of that island…
May 23, 2019
Atlantic Sturgeon
From the BooksWay Back Machine

ROAD TRIPS 2 EXCERPT: ‘A Remarkably Ugly Fish’

This is an excerpt from Eastern Shore Road Trips #2: 26 MORE One-Day Adventures on Delmarva: That phrase, "a remarkably ugly fish" was perhaps the kindest phrase the environmental historian Nancy Langston employed during a 2019 talk she gave about the sturgeon. The phrases “sort of like zombies” and “basically dinosaurs” came into play as well. Langston wasn’t kidding about that last one. You’ve heard of…
May 15, 2019