An interesting and detailed look at a forgotten episode in American history - the execution of over 30 slaves accused in a series of arsons in New York City in 1741. Not unlike the Salem witch trials, the theory of a conspiracy was developed from the testimony of a girl, an indentured servant. The book also provides rich detail about life during a period of American history, the decades prior to the Revolution, often neglected. It also develops the irony of the rise of a love of liberty by the colonists with the reality of bondage for a full fifth of New York's population. ( )