Ain't Nothing But a Man
My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
by Scott Reynolds Nelson
with Marc Aronson

Description:

African-American men, some 40,000 of them, built and repaired the train tracks that snake through the South. They lined up the track, hammered it into place, and blasted tunnels through mountains to bring the trains through. No one ever wrote about them; we can only see them in photographs or find their remains in graves. But we can hear them through their songs. One of these songs is "John Henry," the story of a strong black man who competed against a steam drill and won.

Historian Scott Nelson has been interested in railroads ever since he was a boy. Determined to uncover the true story behind "John Henry," Nelson set out on a historical quest as dramatic as any adventure. For not only did he find the real John Henry, he decoded the secret message of the song.

In Ain't Nothing But a Man, Nelson takes young readers along with him as he explores old railroad tunnels, hunts through hand-written ledgers, and finds a clue hidden in a postcard. On the way, he uncovers chilling truths that not only led him to the real John Henry but finally allow us to hear a message from those 40,000 missing men.

Ain't Nothing But a Man
My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
by Scott Reynolds Nelson
with Marc Aronson

ISBN: 9781426300004
ISBN-10: 142630000X
Publisher: National Geographic Society
Publication Date: 2007
Format: Hardcover, 64 pages, 9.5" x 11"
Book Type: New