This unique volume looks at the history of quilting and the use of quilts as visual aids in the context of slavery and the "Underground Railroad" in pre-Civil War America. "Facts & Fabrications" uses the most current research - including first-person accounts, newspaper and military records, and surviving quilts - to provide a controversial, yet thorough and informative examination of the role of quilts in the era of slavery and emancipation. This volume also includes 9 projects and 20 block patterns that represent the history of slavery, inspired by stories of the "Underground Railroad".