Forever free is an excellent and detailed introduction to a new narrative about the reconstuction period in the american south for too long the american public has seen the reconstruction largely through myths perpetrated by southern whites and given great publicity through such films as the birth of a nation and gone with the wind. Forever free the story of emancipation and reconstruction author eric foner publisher knopf doubleday publishing group 2013 isbn 0307834581 9780307834584 length 304 pages subjects. Forever free the story of emancipation and reconstruction vintage series author eric foner editor joshua brown edition illustrated reprint publisher vintage books 2006 isbn 0375702741. In forever free we learn how the events after the civil war threatened to derail the important work of reconstruction it wasnt enough to just end slavery it was the nations duty to ensure the new freedmen had the resources and institutions set up to actually survive in the american economy