Fergus Bordewich

freelance writer, historian

Fergus M. Bordewich is a historian and journalist whose writing focuses primarily on the history of slavery and abolitionism, and ways in which the politics of slavery shaped and distorted the development of the United States. He enlarged on these themes in his two most recent books: *Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America*; and *Washington: The Making of the American Capital*. He is currently working on a book about slavery, western expansion, and the Compromise of 1850, to be titled *The Fires of Liberty: How the Greatest debate in American History Kept the Wild West Free, and Brought on the Civil War*. It will be published in 2111. Over four decades, he has have written for many national publications – including the *New York Times*, *Smithsonian Magazine*, *Atlantic Monthly*, *Harper’s*, *Wall Street Journal*, *Reader’s Digest*, and others – on history, human rights, political issues, economic development, and travel. His earlier books include: *Cathay: A Journey in Search of Old China*; *Killing the White Man’s Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century*; and *My Mother’s Ghost: A Memoir*. As a journalist, he has worked and traveled widely in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, and lived for extended periods in Greece, Germany, and China, where he served as an advisor to the New China News Agency. He also worked as a press officer for the United Nations, at UN Headquarters, in New York. He currently lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Jean.