Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

Book Description

This dramatic autobiography of the early life of an American slave was first published in 1845, when its young author had just achieved his freedom. Douglass' eloquence gives a clear indication of the powerful principles that led him to become the first great African-American leader in the United States.

Customer Reviews:

Forgotten American Political Classic, Best Slave Narrative Reading .......2007-10-07

I read this book some years ago and thought it the best American personnal slave narrative ever written.A forerunner of the 20th century's ,'Autobiography of Malcolm X'.This book is sadly forgotten by many,both among black and white educators.Frederick Douglass was more than an "American Moses",he could have been called ,an 'American Frederick Engels'.Douglass had the power of literacy,which the European-American christians always wanted surpressed and restricted for everybody,especially slaves and the church laity.Douglass had the power of knowledge,and the ablity to reason,which in turn leads to a better society.The more freedom of knowledge is restricted by authorities,the more explosive the base of society becomes.The free exchange of ideas has always allowed a democracy to flourish,and inturn a more stable and progressive society,a 'Great Society'.Frederick Douglass' Washingtonian beacon house still stands proudly on the hill overlooking the scenic and political landscape.This book is a short classic narrative,yet still worthy of investing one's time reading today.

fantastic reading.......2007-07-31

I love reading about history,part of history that everyone should read about. I would recommend to everyone...

Simply the best narrative I have read..........2007-07-18

As society moves about, the slavery of the past remains alive and well. "Sweep it under the rug and do not bring it up" is the mindset of many. This type of suppression is often brought about because of the known guilt of an unfair past. American slavery has deep roots, reading the life of Fredrick Douglass, will help unveil some of the true history of America.

At one point in the book Douglass realized he had past the time of being an indentured servant and knew that being a slave for life was his fate. He was treated with little if no respect. Douglass described Mr. Severe, one of his "masters", as a man who would whip a slave for almost no reason at all (22). Dougless illustrated that Mr. Severe had no respect for his slaves, but treated them as if they were not human.

Many people may think that Douglass story was the exception, but that's not the case. Many times through out the book Douglass spoke of other slave's punishment as far worse than his own. He even recorded the murder of two slaves in Talbot, Maryland and stated that the slave owner never paid for the crime (31-33). This type of abuse almost seems unfathomable, but it's reality.

Studying the origins of slavery can allow us to see the disgusting progression of the enslavement of human life and stripping of human character. Douglass' narrative provides the reader with a glimpse into the life of a slave. The emotional state of Douglass was strong, considering the abuse that he underwent during his life. The narrative of Fredrick Douglass is a superb read for anyone wanting to get a first hand understanding of the life of an American slave.

must read, best on the psychology of slavery, particularly on owners.......2007-01-18

This is an absolutely amazing narrative, of the growth of an individual from the most brutish of slave lives to a free man who took pride in his work and his mind, which he then bent to political action. While told as a story, this book is actually an essay on personal struggle and development: to respect himself, to change his circumstances, to be re-born. At that, it is extremely powerful and moving. The reader empathizes completely with his rage, his awakening, and his striving to grow. He came to the point where he would rather fight back than die slowly, never to be dominated in his spirit.

But it also points to the effect of slavery on their owners. While there are the standard cruel and selfish ones, who are attempting to "break" his spirit in order to domesticate him, the story of how it twists the souls of essentially good people that is the most interesting and shocking. It is like a sickness, their total and unresponsible power, that extingusihes their empathy and replaces it with the most horrible selfishness, as they debase themselves with cruelty. You get the whippings and routine humilations, but also what that does to the perpetrators. This means that the book never descends into stereotypes, but reads as an extremely fresh story by a thoughtful, indeed brilliant, man.

THere are also many interesting asides, which are often philosophical. He points out the hypocrisy of southern christians, who make the worst and most cruel and self-righteous slavers, all while justifying their behavior by the bible. He also recounts how he expected that the "refinement" of the southern gentleman and their leisure would be impsooble in the North, which he pictured as poor as the non-slave holding population in the South - but he discovers an entirely different kind of economic life, in which men worked and prospered and deveoped themselves even more than what he had observed on plantations. But the most important thing is his recounting of his inner journey, which was encouraged by his learning to read as a way to overcome the ignorence that made for "contented slaves."

There is so much food for thought on the human spirit as well as wonder at how the US has evolved. Highest recommendation. If you like this, you should also read Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriat A. Jacobs.

Breaking the bonds of slavery.......2006-07-14

This nonfiction revels in importance simply because of its magnitude in not only the fight against slavery in the latter part of the 1800s (and the subsequent abolition), but also because of its brutal honesty for an individual who should be considered an ancestor of civil rights. Fredrick Douglass narrates in detail many of the terrors, horrors, and injustices that he and those around him had to endure during his years as a slave in Maryland. He describes the beatings, whippings, tortures and even deaths that he was close to and had no power to stop. He makes the point that slaveholders gained control over slaves by dehumanizing them, making them ignorant against their own accord, and ultimately having control over them. Frederick does everything in his power to negate this dehumanization, and begins to learn to read and write, but with more knowledge gained he has a stronger sense of loathing those who enslave him: "The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no better light than a band of successful robbers who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes..."

He should be considered a hero for standing up to hardships with little or no support on his side, and finding strength to get past these when he had seemingly had his spirit broken. One important moment is the incident with Edward Covey, the notorious "slave breaker", when rather than giving in, Frederick gets into a rather lengthy physical fight. From this time onward, Frederick is resolved to never let others get the best of him, try to force him to do anything against his will, without a fight. Later he resolves that when the right time comes, he will try to run from slavery and escape. When he is able to land in New York, a kind-hearted man, David Ruggles, comes to his aid and helps him get work.

Historically, this is an important story for Americans to know. Douglass' account is a short narrative (a little over one hundred pages), and reads rather quickly, but in that short time he is able to illustrate just how degrading the issue of slavery had become. His autobiography shows the importance of change, the lows with which others sometimes subject each other to, and the essence of taking up a fight against injustices.

The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics

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Puts the radical ideologist and the political realist in historical perspective
What changed Frederick Douglass' mind
The Politician and the Reformer
Neglected History
A spectacular love story

The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics
James Oakes
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393061949

Book Description

A major history of Civil War America through the lens of its two towering figures: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

"My husband considered you a dear friend," Mary Todd Lincoln wrote to Frederick Douglass in the weeks after Lincoln's assassination. The frontier lawyer and the former slave, the cautious politician and the fiery reformer, the president and the most famous black man in America—their lives traced different paths that finally met in the bloody landscape of secession, Civil War, and emancipation. Opponents at first, they gradually became allies, each influenced by and attracted to the other. Their three meetings in the White House signaled a profound shift in the direction of the Civil War, and in the fate of the United States. In this first book to draw the two together, James Oakes has written a masterful narrative history. He brings these two iconic figures to life and sheds new light on the central issues of slavery, race, and equality in Civil War America.

Customer Reviews:

Puts the radical ideologist and the political realist in historical perspective.......2007-05-30

One of the easiest things to do, especially on the web, is to take a highly regarded leader of the past, say, Abraham Lincoln, pull a few of his quotes or actions out of their historical context, and supposedly "prove" how horrible that leader actually was. In contrast, author James Oakes explains Lincoln to us postmoderns the way an historian should - by reminding us of Lincoln's circumstances and explaining Lincoln's overarching purposes. Oakes does this without resorting to making Lincoln a saint. According to Oakes' compellingly-supported evidence, Lincoln refused to compromise two essential commitments - to antislavery and to the American political system. Lincoln would not compromise his antislavery position to get more votes, nor would he compromise his oaths to uphold the Constitution to undermine slavery. This dual commitment of Lincoln's goes very far in helping us understand why Lincoln limited his goal to preventing the spread of slavery before he became president, why he didn't just go ahead and free all the slaves when he became president, why he moved slowly towards emancipation during the war, etc. Furthermore, the author's discussion of Lincoln's overwhelming desire to change the hearts and minds of Americans about slavery instead of merely forcing through political change regardless of wider support was especially useful. As the "Republican" in the title, Lincoln wanted a government that represented the will of the people; therefore, the will of the people needed to be converted before the government could make radical change. The fact that Lincoln helped accomplish this more widespread change is quite a testament to his legacy of leadership.

The "Radical" in the title is another great American, Frederick Douglass. Unlike Lincoln's, Douglass' reputation typically is not in dispute. Most of us love Douglass, and for good reason. Oakes doesn't tarnish Douglass' reputation, but he does help us to understand how Douglass' singular commitment to antislavery/antiracism, as compared to Lincoln's dual commitment explained above, often put Douglass at odds with the political process AND caused Douglass to speak out so vehemently against politicians like Lincoln. From Douglass' perspective, only immediate emancipation and egalitarianism would serve justice. Thus, by necessity, Douglass would oppose and criticize Lincoln - that is, until the two men met.

One of the reviewers below critiques Oakes for supposedly overstating the relationship between the two men. I believe this critique is misplaced because Oakes never claimed to be writing primarily about the interpersonal relationship between the two. Instead, he's writing about the interplay of the radical ideology of one, and the antislavery politics of the other. Also, I think that Oakes analyzes the relationship between Brown and Douglass comprehensively, not simplistically, as a reviewer below seems to believe.

As a person who teaches history at the college level, and as a person who enjoys reading history for fun, I would recommend this book. I intend to make it one of my required texts for my survey American history course, alongside Frederick Douglass' autobiography.

What changed Frederick Douglass' mind.......2007-04-24

Author James Oakes tells us this: in 1860 Frederick Douglass wrote of the upcoming presidential election "I cannot support Lincoln." But in 1888, Douglass said he had met no man "possessing a more godlike nature than did Abraham Lincoln." What had happened?

Oakes gives us a quick glance at his hypothesis within the subtitle of his book: the triumph of antislavery politics. As he explains, this doesn't apply to Lincoln. Lincoln was always an anti-slavery politician, although his thinking on how and how fast slavery should be destroyed changed over time. But with regards to the use of politics as the means to abolish slavery, the man whose thinking moved more was Frederick Douglass. And although the two men share the billing in Oakes' title, this is far more a book about Douglass than Lincoln. It is a book about the evolution of the reasoning of Frederick Douglass.

That evolution, as Oakes paints it, began for Douglass from the belief that the issue of slavery transcended politics and the compromises that came with it. Oakes traces how Douglass the reformer began to be drawn into the political arena, alienating the abolitionists who had first supported his career. But still he carried with him that insistence on absolutism. He brooked no delays, no strategic maneuverings. Lincoln and the Republicans were gradualists, and therefore were deemed irresolute and untrustworthy.

After the Civil War began, Douglass found even more reasons for outrage. Lincoln refused to immediately emancipate the slaves. The President even countermanded the Union generals who issued proclamations freeing the slaves in the territories they conquered. Lincoln had not yet issued a retaliation policy against confederates who captured and often executed southern blacks who had joined the Union army. Oakes gives us deft insights into Lincoln's thinking on all these issues. Douglass, who apparently was not himself an acolyte of consistency, bounced back and forth in his electoral attitudes. But he never let up in his pressure on Lincoln nor in his condemnation of the President's lack of strong steps against slave-holding interests.

Then, first in 1863, Lincoln meets with Douglass. About a year later, at Lincoln's request, they meet a second time and Lincoln asks Douglass to draw up a plan to get as many slaves freed under the Emancipation Proclamation as possible. Over that span Douglass' thinking with regards to Lincoln undergoes a dramatic shift. Afterwards, his criticism of Lincoln essentially stops.

Oakes describes these meetings, including a third just after Lincoln's second inaugural address, in as much detail as consistent with the small format of the book. He relies largely on Douglass' own recollections. Oakes also gives us dramatic retellings of other events in Douglass' career that illustrate the development of his thinking, but also the refinement of his skills as a political strategist.

We are still left wondering what exactly was the effect of those meetings with Lincoln. Was Douglass simply overwhelmed, as others were, by the force of Lincoln's understated humaneness and thereby convinced of the President's genuine concern for blacks? Or did Lincoln persuade Douglass that his political methods were the best possible under the evolving circumstances? Or did Lincoln flatter Douglass into acquiescence, especially in enlisting his help during that second meeting?

These possibilities are not mutually exclusive. Oakes in no way downplays the significance of these meetings. But I believe he wants us to see that what happened was entirely consistent with the evolution of Douglass' thinking with regards to politics. As a reformer, he saw it his job to always keep the pressure on. But where and how best to apply that pressure --- that changed in his meetings with Lincoln. And, near the end of Douglass' life, when he raised Lincoln to sainthood, he was still putting the pressure on. But he was using Lincoln's reputation to apply that pressure against the backsliding that the post-Reconstruction era had brought. Douglass had found a way to combine the duties of a reformer with a sophisticated instinct for politics.

"The Radical and the Republican" is not a dramatic retelling of events. It is certainly not a co-biography of its two principals. But it does have drama. That drama comes from taking Douglass' thinking seriously and mapping out its development and growing political sophistication. To do this, it uses comparisons with Lincoln's thinking and the interplay of the two men's principles and actions. But it's not by accident that Douglass comes first in the book's title and its cover. There are many books about Lincoln. This is a book about Frederick Douglass.

The Politician and the Reformer.......2007-03-22

Abraham Lincoln (1809 --1865) and Frederick Douglass (1818 -- 1895)are American heroes with each exemplifying a unique aspect of the American spirit. In his recent study, "The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics" (2007), Professor James Oakes traces the intersecting careers of both men, pointing out their initial differences and how their goals and visions ultimately converged. Oakes is Graduate School Humanities Professor and Professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has written extensively on the history of slavery in the Old South.

Oakes reminds the reader of how much Lincoln and Douglass originally shared. Lincoln and Douglass were self-made, self-educated, and ambitious, and each rose to success from humble backgrounds. Douglass, of course, was an escaped slave. Douglass certainly and Lincoln most likely detested slavery from his youngest days. But Lincoln from his young manhood was a consummate politican devoted to compromise, consensus-building, moderation and indirection. Douglass was a reformer who spoke and wrote eloquently and with passion for the abolition of slavery and for equal rights for African Americans.

Much of Oakes's book explores the difficult subject of Lincoln's attitude towards civil rights -- as opposed simply to the ending of slavery -- and of how Lincoln's views developed during the Civil War. Oakes uses Douglass as a foil for Lincoln beginning with the Lincoln -- Stephen Douglas debates in Illinois in 1858. Steven Douglas tried hard to link Lincoln to Frederick Douglass and to abolitionism. He claimed that Lincoln favored equal rights for Negroes and raised the spectre of intermarriage between white women and black men. Portions of Lincoln's responses to Stephen Douglas were almost as distressing, as Lincoln carefully avoided supporting civil equality between the races and stressed instead the evil of slavery and the need to stop its expansion. It is not surprising that Douglass the abolitionist was ambivalent and mistrustful of Lincoln in the early years, doubting his committment to the cause of ending slavery.

Douglass continued to distrust President Lincoln. Douglass found the President too quick to temporize and too slow to act towards freeing the slaves. In widely publicized actions, Lincoln had rebuked two of his generals, Freemont and Hunter, who had tried to take aggressive action to free slaves. Lincoln had acted in order to keep on good terms with the border states whose support he deemed necessary to a successful war effort. But Douglass saw Lincoln's actions as weak and waffling.

Douglass's attitude gradually changed with the Emancipation Proclamation and with three meetings between the two men in 1863, 1864, and 1865. Douglass was won over by the President. Lincoln, for his part, seemed to view Douglass with genuine affection and friendship. Douglass gave masterful orations summarizing Lincoln's accomplishments following Lincoln's assassination, in 1876 at the unveiling of the Emancipation Monument in Lincoln Park, Washington, D.C., and throughout the rest of his life. Lincoln had fought slavery with every means at his command, Douglass came to believe, given the difficult political and military situation with which he had to deal.

Douglass' career moved in an opposite direction from that of Lincoln. He began as a reformer and a follower of the abolitionist William Garrison and he initially shared Garrison's contempt for the American political process. Gradually, Douglass found his own voice, and he became convinced the the United States Constitution did not support slavery. He came to conclude that it was possible to work for change through the political process, and this belief eventually allowed a convergence between him and Lincoln. With the conclusion of the Civil War, Douglass became a party man and a stalwart Republican -- perhaps giving up more than he should have of the passion of his early years. While he ultimately saw the failure of Reconstruction, Douglass remained for the rest of his long life firmly within the American political process.

Oakes does an excellent job of comparing and contrasting the work of Lincoln and Douglass. His accounts of the complex events leading to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation are particuarly lucid. Oakes argues that Lincoln had surreptitiously delivered the death blow to slavery by the end of 1861. As to Douglass, I learned a great deal from Oakes's discussion of his three autobiographies, written in 1845, 1855, and 1881 (editied, 1891) and of how these works document the change of Douglass from reformer to an instance of the American success story. Oakes also describes well and detail a chilling meeting between Douglass and other African American leaders and President Andrew Johnson in which Douglass unsuccessfully tried to persuade Johnson to extend the right to vote to African Americans.

Oakes has written a readable, informed account of the achievements of two great American leaders. The attitudes which they represent -- the politican and the reformer -- and the issues with which they struggled remain with Americans today.

Robin Friedman

Neglected History.......2007-03-08

I enjoyed this book because it showed the civil rights struggle with all its complexities in a very clear and understandable way. The interaction of Douglas and Lincoln was especially interesting because it provided a very human picture of good men trying to deal with the thinking and forces operating during that time.

A spectacular love story.......2007-03-01

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass long, coy courtship ends in the conjugal bliss of pragmatism. Explosive!

And the cover of the book is AWESOME. The design is great.

Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass 3-Volume Set (The African American History Reference Series)

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Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass 3-Volume Set (The African American History Reference Series)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195167775

Book Description

It is impossible to understand America without understanding the history of African Americans. In nearly seven hundred entries, the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895 documents the full range of the African American experience during that period-from the arrival of the first slave ship to the death of Frederick Douglass-and shows how all aspects of American culture, history, and national identity have been profoundly influenced by the experience of African Americans. The Encyclopedia covers an extraordinary range of subjects. Major topics such as "Abolitionism," "Black Nationalism," the "Civil War," the "Dred Scott case," "Reconstruction," "Slave Rebellions and Insurrections," the "Underground Railroad," and "Voting Rights" are given the in-depth treatment one would expect. But the encyclopedia also contains hundreds of fascinating entries on less obvious subjects, such as the "African Grove Theatre," "Black Seafarers," "Buffalo Soldiers," the "Catholic Church and African Americans," "Cemeteries and Burials," "Gender," "Midwifery," "New York African Free Schools," "Oratory and Verbal Arts," "Religion and Slavery," the "Secret Six," and much more. In addition, the Encyclopedia offers brief biographies of important African Americans-as well as white Americans who have played a significant role in African American history-from Crispus Attucks, John Brown, and Henry Ward Beecher to Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass, Sarah Grimke, Sojourner Truth, Nat Turner, Phillis Wheatley, and many others. All of the Encyclopedia's alphabetically arranged entries are accessibly written and free of jargon and technical terms. To facilitate ease of use, many composite entries gather similar topics under one headword. The entry for Slave Narratives, for example, includes three subentries: The Slave Narrative in America from the Colonial Period to the Civil War, Interpreting Slave Narratives, and African and British Slave Narratives. A headnote detailing the various subentries introduces each composite entry. Selective bibliographies and cross-references appear at the end of each article to direct readers to related articles within the Encyclopedia and to primary sources and scholarly works beyond it. A topical outline, chronology of major events, nearly 300 black and white illustrations, and comprehensive index further enhance the work's usefulness.

Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others (Thrift Edition)

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Africa Receives Them Back.
best readings
Great Speeches by African Americans

Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others (Thrift Edition)
James Daley
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486447618

Book Description

This anthology comprises speeches by influential figures in the history of African-American culture and politics. Contents include the famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech by Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass' immortal "What, to the Slave, Is the Fourth of July?" Martin Luther King, Jr.,'s "I Have a Dream," Barack Obama, and many others.

Customer Reviews:

Africa Receives Them Back........2007-03-23

This book was bought for a missionary in the rain forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for his schools. The schools are for the Batwa pygmy students. Their tribe in recent times was dominated by the Ekonda Master tribe. Now they are schooled together. This is for their English and History classes and their library.

The missionary who started the schools through Mission Pendjua, Dr. Jerry Galloway MD, feels this book will be a powerful influence and also give them the insight into the American expression of being an African American.

In a sense, "what comes round goes round" and this book and it's information and hope are being returned to Africa. It is powerful to realize that generations later, these authors and speakers are leading the way for the coming changes of the African continent.

Joyce M. Grubbs

best readings.......2007-01-30

this is a book that will give you insight into a lot of issues.

Great Speeches by African Americans.......2007-01-22

Interesting accounts of historic figures in african american history as displaced in the memorable speeches. Gives insight into the thinking and beliefs of some the great african american leaders of past and present times. If you are a historican of african american leaders or an avid reader, I would strongly recommend reading this book.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (Barnes & Noble C: An American Slave (Barnes & Noble Classics)

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GREAT BOOK
The Greatest Book of Slavery Ever Written!
Worth Every Penny
A great read
"...valuable bread of knowledge." (pg. 44)

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (Barnes & Noble C: An American Slave (Barnes & Noble Classics)
Frederick Douglass
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1593080417

Book Description

No book except perhaps Uncle Tom’s Cabin had as powerful an impact on the abolitionist movement as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. But while Stowe wrote about imaginary characters, Douglass’s book is a record of his own remarkable life.

Born a slave in 1818 on a plantation in Maryland, Douglass taught himself to read and write. In 1845, seven years after escaping to the North, he published Narrative, the first of three autobiographies. This book calmly but dramatically recounts the horrors and the accomplishments of his early years—the daily, casual brutality of the white masters; his painful efforts to educate himself; his decision to find freedom or die; and his harrowing but successful escape.

An astonishing orator and a skillful writer, Douglass became a newspaper editor, a political activist, and an eloquent spokesperson for the civil rights of African Americans. He lived through the Civil War, the end of slavery, and the beginning of segregation. He was celebrated internationally as the leading black intellectual of his day, and his story still resonates in ours.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT BOOK.......2007-05-08

PUCHASED THIS BOOK FOR CLASS BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE A REAALY INTERESTING READ..

The Greatest Book of Slavery Ever Written!.......2006-10-21

This book helped me to see the freedoms that I now have. It also taught me to follow my dreams with all my heart. "Give me liberty or give me death" What a true blessing to read about this great man of GOD.

Worth Every Penny.......2006-08-31

I needed this book for an 11th grade summer assignment so I decided to purchase this version of the book. I loved how the price was good, and I loved the extra bits of information at the beginning of the book (like the timeline). I suggest anyone intrested in reading this book purchase this version...it definately was worth it!

A great read.......2006-07-10

"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man." It is with acute insight and unyielding clarity that Douglass describes his feelings, experiences, and ultimate emancipation from slavery. The reader is taken into his mind - his doubts of ever being free, his fight with Mr. Covey, and his lost of hope.

I read an excerpt of this book with my students, and it is amazing how alive Douglass seems to them through his writing. The students enjoy learning about Frederick Douglass - and as such, they are given a glimpse into one of the most poignant stories in regards to the triumph of the human spirit.

"...valuable bread of knowledge." (pg. 44).......2006-07-09

First, I must mention that there are several editions of this book that have been published. I actually have two different editions but henceforth I will be referring to the Barnes & Noble Classic version with the Introduction by Robert O'Meally published in 2003. It is unlikely the other editions are better.

With timelines and detailed endnotes, Robert O'Meally, a Columbia University Professor, provides a scholarly introduction to Narrative, which all combine to create an excellent reference on Frederick Douglass.

One would make quick work in reading the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. It is not a lengthy autobiography which could be attributed to the fact that this is his first autobiography; it was written in 1845 when he was around 27 years of age. He later pens My Bondage, My Freedom (1855) and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1892).

In short, it is a must read for everyone! Frederick Douglass provides a first-hand account of the evils of slavery, unveiling its immorality for all to see. He writes clearly, descriptively and at times with emotion; appropriately so given the circumstances. From his attempts at identifying his father, to his encounters with his various masters and overseers, to his epiphany that "...rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom...", you will be a passenger on his journey to emancipation.

Upon learning how to read, Frederick Douglass stated, "The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers." When reading this autobiography those same feelings will arise anew in you.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)

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The Rest of the Story
Not Just a African, but an American Hero!
Required Reading
My heart broke

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)
Frederick Douglass
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312257376

Customer Reviews:

The Rest of the Story.......2007-07-07

In the classic slave narrative genre, Frederick Douglass' narrative of his life brings to life, in all its horrors, American slave society, and one slave's life-long protest against it.

When we read Frederick Douglass in his own words, he is less the radical and more the reformer than we've been led to believe. He is also more the Christian statesmen and less the Christianity critic than we might imagine. Douglass' oft quoted comments about Christianity had much more to do with a righteous critique of distorted Christian living practiced by white masters than with any critique of Christianity or of Christ. In reality, Douglass, like so many enslaved African Americans before and after him, saw in Jesus a Savior they could identify with--a suffering Savior.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.

Not Just a African, but an American Hero!.......2005-10-10

Frederick Douglass is the complete ressurection of the saying, "Knowledge is Power." With the more information he aquired as a slave the more he lusted for freedom. He also provides an excellent example of what black people in this country could do for themselves, interms of their economical status. Looking further, Douglass loved to think and imagine the endless possiblities, while he was still in bondage physically. When he began to read and understand the "Hypocrasy" that this country was based on, using christianity as it main tool, and what every human should be allowed by right, this released his psychological enslavement. If blacks throughout this country could read and understand there were blacks that went through worse situatians and overcame them, and the current situation that destroy the black communities were created for them to fail, just like slavery, many would wake up and take on the mask of Douglass. The mask that says, "regardless of class, race, or creed, this world was created for everyone to enjoy including me."

Required Reading.......2004-08-27

I read this book as part of a summer assignment entering into the 11th grade in addition to "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs. Both are great pieces of African-American historical literature and well worth the read. I couldn't read this book all in one sitting, due to the need to fight the urge to throw up. He detailed descriptions of physical, psycological, and emotional abuse are enough to sicken any one and make you disgusted with the human race.

My heart broke.......2004-06-11

The honesty with which this is written is amazing. I was glued to it from page one. I felt disgusted by the human race, saddened by his traumas and guilty just for being white. I think this needs to be read more. Especially in schools. Why isn't it???

Frederick Douglass: A Critical Reader (Blackwell Critical Readers)

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Frederick Douglass: A Critical Reader (Blackwell Critical Readers)
Frank M. Kirkland
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0631205780

Book Description

In this powerful volume, 15 leading American philosophers examine and critically reassess Douglass's significance for contemporary social and political thought.Philosophically, Douglass's work sought to establish better ways of thinking, especially in the light of his convictions about our humanity and democratic legitimacy - convictions that were culturally and historically shaped by his experience of, and struggle against, the institution of American slavery.Contributors include Bernard R. Boxill, Angela Y. Davis, Lewis R. Gordon, Leonard Harris, Tommy L. Lott, Howard McGary, and John P. Pittman.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Manufacturer: Prestwick House Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1580495761

Book Description

Born into a family of slaves, Frederick Douglass educated himself through sheer determination. His unconquered will to triumph over his circumstances makes his one of America's best and most unlikely success stories. Douglass' own account of his journey from slave to one of America's great statesmen, writers, and orators is as fascinating as it is inspiring.

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader contend with Douglass' nineteenth-century style and vocabulary.

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Good review.......2007-08-28

I had no problem with this seller. My item was shipped quickly and I received it in excellent condition. This seller does good business.

Frederick Douglass : Autobiographies : Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave / My Bondage and My Freedom / Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (Library of America)

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One of my relatives
The Life of a Free Man
one of the founding American novels
Excellence in Achievement through the Human Spirit
Hard work and a positive attitude prevail

Frederick Douglass : Autobiographies : Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave / My Bondage and My Freedom / Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (Library of America)
Frederick Douglass
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0940450798

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Frederick Douglass, born a slave, educated himself, escaped, and made himself one of the greatest leaders in American history. His brilliant anti-slavery speeches were so fiercely intelligent, and so startlingly eloquent, that many people didn't believe he had been a slave. To prove them wrong, Douglass decided to write his own story. His autobiographical narratives stunned the world, and have shocked, moved, and inspired readers ever since. Here, complete for the first time in one authoritative volume, are the three powerful and gripping stories, now recognized as classics of American writing. Fascinating firsthand accounts of slavery and abolitionism, John Brown and Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Reconstruction, and the emerging struggle for civil rights, they are above all the inspiring story of a self-made American: a slave who became adviser to the President, minister to Haiti, and the most influential black American of the nineteenth century.

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One of my relatives.......2005-04-07

- As an author myself, I recommend that you purchase this book for personal study. "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" is a fascinating book and video that helped me understand one of my relatives.
Author. "Knowledge For Tomorrow" Quinton Douglass Crawford

The Life of a Free Man.......2002-09-05

Frederick Douglass (1818?-1895) was the greatest African American leader of the Nineteenth Century. He was born a slave on the Eastern Shore in Maryland and grew up on plantations on the Eastern Shore with several years in Baltimore. He was a physically powerful, highly intelligent, and spirited youth and developed quickly a hatred of the slave system. As a slave, he taught himself to read and write, and learned the art of public speaking from the church and from a book of orations popular at the time that feel into his hands. He escaped from slavery at the age of 20 and moved to New Bedford,Massachusetts. He became part of the Abolitionist Movement and achieved fame as a public speaker. He became a newspaper editor and writer. During the Civil War, he assisted in the recuritment of black troops. He met President Lincoln on several occasions and became a great admirer. In later years, Douglass was aligned with the conservative "stalwart" wing of the Republican party and continued to speak out for the rights of African-Americans, to oppose (somewhat belatedly) the end of Reconstruction, and to work for the life of the spirit and the mind.

Frederick Douglass wrote three autobiographies which are given in this volume. The first, shortest, and best was written in 1845, seven years after Douglass had escaped from slavery. It tells in graphic and unforgettable terms the story of Douglass' life as a slave, the growth of the spirit of freedom in himself. and the early part of his life as a free man in New Bedford.

The second autobiography was written in 1855. It repeats much of the earlier story and describes Douglass's visit to Great Britain. A higlight of this volume is the Appendix in which Douglass gives the reader excerpts from several of his speeches, including his perhaps most famous speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July."

Douglass wrote his third autobiography in 1888 and edited it substantially in 1893. It describes Douglass's relationship with Abraham Lincoln and John Brown. I also enjoyed the section of the book in which Douglass describes his trip to England, Italy, and Egypt near the end of his life. It is highly intelligent, perceptive and reflective travel writing. There are also excerpts in this final autobiography from Douglass's speeches and letters.

The most striking incident in all three volumes is Douglass's story of how he stood up for himself and became in his own eyes a man of dignity and courage. Douglass had been sent for a year to live with a small farmer named Covey who had a reputation for breaking the sprit of strong-willed slaves. Covey whipped Douglass unmercifully for the first six months. Then, after a whipping which left Douglass scared and weak for several days (he ran back to his old master who ordered him back to Covey) Douglass fought back. Covey attempted to whip Douglass and Douglass resisted. The two men fought hand-to-hand for hours. Douglass could not assume the offensive in the fight (it was enough to resist at all) but more than held his ground and had the better of it. Covey at last walked off and never whipped Douglass again. This incident is strikingly told in each autobiography and marks the moment when Douglass showed he could stand up for himself and not have the spirit of a slave. It is inspiring and it grounded his actions for the rest of his life.

There is much in these books that transcends the resistance against American slavery, utterly important as that is. We have, as I have tried to explain, in this book the voice of personal freedom and self-determination which is something every person must learn and undestand for him or herself in deciding how to live. In addition,I get the impression that as Douglass aged he became increasingly committed to the life of the mind and the spirit. This is apparent from his writing and from his interest in travel, in European high culture, art, literature, and music. Douglass learned the meaning for freedom. He tried to devote himself to matters of the spirit in addition to his lifelong quest to improve the lot of the former slave. I think there is still a great deal to be learned here.

Douglass had much to say about the nature of American freedom and democracy. He loved and had faith in them, in spite of the horrible stain of slavery. Here is a wonderful observation from the third autobiography in which Douglass' describes his activities during the Presidential campaign of 1888.

"I left the discussion of the tariff to my young friend Morris, while I spoke for justice and humanity....I took it to be the vital and animating principle of the Republican party. I found the people more courageous than their party leaders. What the leaders were afraid to teach, the people were brave enough and glad enough to learn. I held that the soul of the nation was in this question, and that the gain of all the gold in the world would not compensate for the loss of the nation's soul. National honor is the soul of the nation, and when this is lost all is lost. ... As with an individual, so too with a nation, there is a time when it may properly be asked "What doth it profit to gain the whole world and therby lose one's soul?"

There is a spirit and a wisdom in Douglass that still has much to teach.

As a man of the Nineteenth Century, Douglass tells us little in his autobiographies of his personal life. Upon his escape from slavery, Douglass married a free, uneducated black woman. Upon her death, Douglass married a white woman, which (as we see briefly in the book) caused shock among American whites and blacks alike. We also see little of Douglass' relationship to his children. The reader who would like to learn more about Douglass' personal life needs to read a biography, such as William McFeeley's "Frederick Douglass" (1891)

Douglass' autobiographies are are precious work of American literature and a testimony to the free human spirit.

one of the founding American novels.......2000-05-30

Once you read Douglass's narrative, you will be surprised that Douglass learned enough to be able to write the first narrative written by an uneducated slave. This is one of the most moving narratives you can read -- I challenge any reader to read this and not understand the irony of the white people supressing black people's accomplishments for hundreds of years. The story of Fredrick Douglas in inspiring on many different levels. Once you read it, any reader will understand why this is mandatory reading in any American literature course. It is impossible to understand life after the Civil War without reading this moving, touching novel about how a slave learned how to read and write. Douglass's autobiography is a great literary achievement which should be savored by all who read it both as a historical and literary document.

Excellence in Achievement through the Human Spirit.......1997-09-17

This account of Frederick Douglass'
life and time by Henry Louis Gates
is the personifaction of Excellence
in Achievement through the Human Spirit.
In spite of the hardships of slavery, Frederick Douglass continued his fight for freedom. His dynamic oratory and leadership helped him to move barriers for all people. This self educated man rose to great prominence to serve as a testament to the world that if you have courage, persistence and faith in God, you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. He knew the power of education and the spoken and written word, which is manifested in his creating the NorthStar newspaper to communicate to others. Of course you have to have mortal men who believe in you and your abilities.

I believe that Mr. Gates captures this strength, this conviction and the essence of Mr. Douglass' spirit and his commitment to make a better life for himself and others like him. His dynamic use of the language allows you to feel conviction and essence of Mr. Douglass' concern. It was like listening to Mr. Douglass speak to me through those pages.

I found this book very intriguing and educational. It has something for the world to learn from.

Thanks to Mr. Gates and others for bringing this great American (World) hero to the forefront. We need to know and share in the histor and spiriti of this great man. By the way I was named after Frederick Douglass. I strive to be like him as much as I can. I am still working on my oratory!

Hard work and a positive attitude prevail.......1997-03-09

Frederick Douglass is a role model for all mankind. He showed us how we can do anything we want in life if we are persistant and have the right attitude. Having nothing in life, not even a chance to become educated, he used every situation as an advantage for himself. He remained positive in adverse situations, had a good work ethic and is a person all races should take lessons from and succeed

Love Across Color Lines: Ottilie Assing and Frederick Douglass

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Assing & Douglass: Radicalism Beyond Social Taboos

Love Across Color Lines: Ottilie Assing and Frederick Douglass
Maria Diedrich
Manufacturer: Hill & Wang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0809066866

Amazon.com

Mulatto ex-slave Frederick Douglass and half-Jewish, German-bred journalist Ottilie Assing were unlikely candidates for romance when they met in New York in 1856. But what began as an interview for a biography on the famed African American abolitionist turned into a torrid, extramarital love affair that lasted 28 years. In Love Across Color Lines, Maria Diedrich explores the labyrinthine sexual, social, and racial conventions of 19th-century American society with which these two intelligent people had to contend. Through Douglass and Assing's letters, Diedrich reconstructs the triumph and tragedy of their union. "Douglass was enchanted with his German companion, but he never again forgot that any liaison with a white woman could prove fatal to his political mission," she writes. "Assing," meanwhile, "respected the burden he had taken upon himself. She defied conventional notions of morality and became both intellectually and physically intimate with this extraordinary man, certain that he would marry her." When Douglass's wife died, however, he eventually married another (younger, white) woman--and Assing committed suicide. In addition to uncovering a vital aspect of Douglass's personal life largely overlooked by previous biographers, Diedrich's informative work looks at Assing's remarkable sacrifice, powered by a love that propelled her into America's bewildering racial wilderness. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Book Description

In this nuanced, sympathetic interpretation of two extraordinary lives, Maria Diedrich acquaints us with an important and little-known relationship. Ottilie Assing, an intrepid German journalist, met and interviewed Frederick Douglass in 1856, and it was an encounter that transformed the lives of both. Diedrich reveals in fascinating detail their intimate twenty-eight-year relationship, their shared intellectual and cultural interests, and their work together on Douglass's abolitionist writings. Love Across Color Lines is a profound meditation on nineteenth-century racial, class, and national boundaries, and offers new insights into the career of a preeminent American leader.

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Assing & Douglass: Radicalism Beyond Social Taboos.......1999-12-18

A decade ago no one had heard of Ottilie Assing or had a clue that she played an important role not only in shaping European perceptions of the US in the crucial years up to and including the Civil War but in her role as collaborator and lover of Douglass for almost 30 years. Then, Terence Pickett, a scholar of German literature doing research in Poland, stumbled on a folder of letters that revealed an intimate acquaintance and passionate involvement between the German immigrant journalist and the American abolitionist. Pickett cautiously called it a friendship, but when William McFeeley used this information in his 1991 Douglass biography, he strongly suspected that the relationship went beyond friendship. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., choosing his words carefully, has meanwhile also concluded that for "much of Douglass's mature career, Assing was his principal intellectual consort." Maria Diedrich's "Love Across Color Lines" finally gives a detailed and thoroughly researched account of the life of this extraordinary woman, her background, commitment to radical causes, emigration in 1852, involvement in abolitionism, passionate attachment to Douglass, and her courageous but tragic end. It is an amazing story, deeply embedded in the stormy social and political conditions on both sides of the Atlantic. One consistent theme is that Assing's commitment to social revolution, having been frustrated by the botched events of 1848-49 in Germany, plays itself out in her support of radical abolitionism, which she consistently sees in terms of a second American Revolution. Another suggestive argument develops the continuity between Assing's partly Jewish background and her attitude toward slavery and race in the US. Though Assing often expressed typical 19th-century racial attitudes, her experience of belonging to a despised minority in Germany helped her to espouse the cause of black Americans, sometimes with more radical passion than Douglass himself. Most original and interesting, moreover, is Diedrich's carefully argued idea that Assing's imagination was infused with the romanticized representation of a black African prince and a white European woman in a novel by one of her close German friends, who based it on Aphra Behn's "Oroonoko." With all of Assing's emphasis on rational social analysis, much of her relationship with Douglass must be explained in terms of the kind of romantic orientalism that shaped her imagination. As Diedrich makes clear in her narrative, the essential problem of writing this biography was the one-sidedness of the evidence. Assing destroyed all letters (hundreds of them) from Douglass; he destroyed all but 27 from her to him, and he mentions her only in passing in his third autobiography. The story that emerges is largely based on Ottilie's letters to her sister and friends, on her published journalism, and on a handful of manuscripts. But the circumstantial evidence--that Douglass and Assing corresponded more or less weekly for more than 25 years, that during those years Assing spent several months every summer with the Douglasses, and that Douglass often visited and stayed with Assing in Hoboken (seeking refuge there when he was in imminent danger of arrest after John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry)--strongly suggests that her passion was reciprocated and that theirs was an intense intellectual and a fully sexual relationship. Aside from these important and fascinating details (which include the highly probable fact that Assing actually ghost-wrote some of Douglass's journalism in "The New National Era"), one of the great strengths of this book is that it places these personal matters in the larger framework of social and political conditions: the abolitionist movement, women's emancipation, the Civil War, Washington politics, the crusades for the Civil Rights amendments in the 1870s, and much more. Diedrich offers us a profound and nuanced insight into how this complex interracial relationship between two committed social radicals could develop in an America rife with political turmoil as well as racial and sexual taboos. The fact that this compelling story has remained veiled for so long is yet another reminder that these taboos continue to exert their fearful power in our own time. Maria Diedrich deserves everyone's gratitude for lifting the veil so thoughtfully, tactfully, and definitively.

Christoph Lohmann Professor Emeritus of English and American Studies, Indiana University

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