An extraordinary and moving story of two brothers from the American South who were stolen away to become circus freaks.

What makes her account compelling, however, is the history it offers of the lives black people had to endure in the decades following slavery, a history that seems all the more poignant in the aftermath of last year's Black Lives Matter debates ... [An] extraordinary tale of courage and grace John Burnside, Spectator -- John Burnside * Spectator * Jaw-dropping * Glasgow Herald * Pitiless about life in the Jim Crow South where, even in the 1920s, thousands of black Americans, some for crimes as trivial as hopping a train, were sold into labour camps and sent down slave mines ... It is quite some story, and Macy has told it skilfully, vividly, compassionately -- Sukhdev Sandhu * Guardian * Compelling * Observer * Macy is a gifted storyteller and a dogged researcher and readers will be riveted by Harriet Muse's struggle to find her sons. * New York Times * A sturdy, passionate, and penetrating narrative. This first-rate journey into human trafficking, slavery, and familial bonding is an engrossing example of spirited, determined reportage * Kirkus * "It's the best story in town," a colleague told Beth Macy decades ago, "but no one has been able to get it." She now has, with tenacity and sensitivity. She gives a singular sideshow its due, offering these "Ambassadors from Mars" a remarkable, deeply affecting afterlife. -- Stacy Schiff As compelling as Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks . . . both are absolutely stunning examples of narrative nonfiction at its best . . . Certain to be among the most memorable books of the year. -- Connie Fletcher * Booklist *

Beth Macy writes about outsiders and underdogs, and she is the author of the New York Times bestseller Factory Man. Her work has appeared in national magazines and newspapers and The Roanoke Times, where her reporting has won more than a dozen national awards, including a Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard and the Lukas Prize from the Columbia School of Journalism.

Introduction - i: Prologue: I Am the True VineChapter - 1: Sit Down and Shut UpChapter - 2: White Peoples Is HatefulChapter - 3: And Still the Cry Against Us ContinuesChapter - 4: your Momma Is DeadChapter - 5: Some Serious SecretsChapter - 6: A Paying PropositionChapter - 7: He Who Hustleth While He WaitethChapter - 8: Comma, ColoredChapter - 9: The Prodigal SonsChapter - 10: Not One Single, Solitary, Red PennyChapter - 11: Adultery's Siamese TwinChapter - 12: Housekeeping!Chapter - 13: Practically ImbecilesChapter - 14: Very Good Old Colored WomanChapter - 15: Wilbur and JohnChapter - 16: God is Good to MeSection - ii: Epilogue: MarkersAcknowledgements - iii: AcknowledgementsSection - iv: NotesIndex - v: Index