Amistad, a novel, by David Pesci Amistad is the incredible TRUE story of a heroic rebellion, a series of court cases, and a presidential cover-up that marked one of America's earliest and most important civil rights cases. The basic story unfolded this way: In July of 1839, 53 Africans abducted into slavery rebelled on the cargo schooner "La Amistad" off the coast of Cuba. They were led by Singbe-Pieh, a rice farmer who refused to be a slave. Singbe and the others took control of the ship and sought to return to Africa by sailing the ship east into the rising sun. But they were tricked by their captives and instead tacked northward, ending up off the U.S. coast two months later. They were captured by the U.S. Navy and taken to Connecticut, where, in 1839, slavery was still legal. The pro-slavery U.S. government, led by President Martin Van Buren, instructed the Navy to return the Africans to Cuba immediately. However, this was a violation of a major treaty the U.S. had signed with England and Spain in 1809. The treaty prohibited the trade of African born slaves. It also promised freedom to Africans abducted as slaves after the treaty went into effect in 1819. Luckily for Singbe and his fellow rebels, members of the fledgling abolitionist movement got wind of what was happening and forced a series of trials in Connecticut. The Africans were defended in court by renowned attorney Roger Baldwin and championed in public by radical equal rights activist, Lewis Tappan. The case eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court where the Africans were defended by former U.S. President John Quincy Adams. Along the way the Van Buren Administration attempts to kidnap the Africans using U.S. Marines, tampers with court documents, and a institutes a major cover-up. David Pesci has taken the facts of the Amistad rebellion and woven them into a gripping novel, Amistad. Amistad is published by Marlowe and Company of New York City and distributed by Publisher's Group West. You can buy the book at you local bookstore (ISBN 1-55924-748-X), from Amazon.com, or directly from Publisher's Group West by calling: 1-800-788-3123.