Hedgehog Harry

Audiobooks are my favorite format for taking in nonfiction and I was not let down by the audiobook for A Terrible Intimacy: Interracial Life in the Slaveholding South by Melvin Patrick Ely. I was provided both the ebook text and audiobook by the publisher for review and I hybrid read between the two. That said the majority of my reading was with the audiobook.

The book is formatted into following six different legal cases that demonstrate the dynamics between races in the slaveholding South. The author wanted the books to feel as if the reader and author were “walking through together.” I think this format was successful in creating that feeling. The author explains that this is a different approach than previous books and despite this I find myself wanting to read those previous books based on my experience reading this one.

The author gives the reader a window into the research process by including details about the archives, sticky volumes, and antiquated terms which he breaks down for the reader. Tips on conducting research made me, as a reader, feel like I was part of the process. Perhaps its the time I spent in special collections as an undergrad but I could practically smell the archives the author waded through.