"An extraordinary book—the terrifying tale of real life human hunters who earned their living legally tracking and capturing escaped slaves, and kidnapping free people of color, in the decades leading to the Civil War. Diggins weaves a compelling narrative of a notorious slave hunter, Thomas McCreary, and others like him, who operated for years along the border between slavery and freedom in Maryland and Pennsylvania. While white and black abolitionists, escaped slaves, and their free neighbors fought McCreary and others with fists, guns, and through the courts, they discovered that the man-hunters found much support for their legal and extra-legal activities, even at the cost of innocent lives and the freedom of many more. A must-read!"