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This Library of American volume was curated by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr, and in many aspects, Douglass could have been writing today, at least from a moral and philosophical standpoint. I could not read all of the volume without taking breaks. While the descriptions of the physical cruelty toward slaves was heinous enough, the psycho social, cultural, environmental and spiritual abuses were as much so. It was not only what slavery and associated racial prejudice did to the victims, but what it
The "Narrative of the Life of Federick Douglass" is the powerful story of Douglass’ first-hand experience as a slave, his escape from slavery, and the genesis of his involvement in the abolitionist movement. The frank descriptions and complex subject matter of this authentic text make this book a valuable informative text for older middle school students (7th and 8th grade) in the context of social studies, history, and language arts.
The Life Of A Free ManFrederick 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
This was a huge undertaking, which I don't think I understood the full extent of until I was in the middle of it. My only reason for docking it a star was because reading them all together, back to back, it gets a little redundant, and I probably would have been better to read one volume and then choose whether I wanted to read the others. While each autobiography gives you something a little different than the others, the main details are the same, and I felt fine with skimming the majority of
Needs to be read by everyoneAlthough written almost 200 hundred years ago, Frederick Douglass' bio still manages to touch us deeply. His works are as important today as they were then. Sadly, I elieve they were better received then. His take on American Christianity's dark side still applies today, as do so many of the attitudes towards black. Will we never learn?
Can't remember what I read excactly by Douglass, except that I got part of the narrative of his childhood, his escape, his new life, and his thoughts on reconstruction. It was really quite startling, and not in the way I expected. It's no secret that his story would have some horrific moments, but some of the smaller details were pretty raw, like when he related that he had heard people in the North insist that slaves must be happy because they sang. Perhaps it was because that kind of moment se...
The value of Frederick Douglass' collected autobiographies cannot be overstated. As a vivid representation of the condition of the enslaved in the United States over a period starting long before the Civil War and extending some 15 years after the abolition of slavery, Douglass' recollections are, perhaps, unique, and certainly riveting. Were his autobiographies required reading for high school students, they would go a long way toward debunking the myth, persistent to this day among racists and...
The Complete Autobiographies of Fredrick Douglass is a poignant and powerful read. Learning about Douglass’ upbringing in slavery is grueling, especially given the brutal treatment he endured at parts of his life, yet his accomplishments despite the shackles of his youth are inspiring. Douglass’ writings are masterful, capturing a dark time in American history, and Douglass provides fascinating insight into Southern slavery, the abolition movement, and the continued struggles of African American...
What I have said respecting and against religion, I mean strictly to apply to the slaveholding religion of this land, and with no possible reference to Christianity proper; for, between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible distance -- so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one, is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love th...
Fredrick Douglas is one of my heroes. This book was a cornerstone in prison. It taught us how to insist on freedom, even when we didn't have it. Reading this book changed my relationship with the guards entirely. I can't think of a single piece of writing that has effected my life more.
The Autobiography slew me. So important and expressed so rendingly ...what really strikes one is the complete absence of self-pity and the almost terrifying objectivity he is able to maintain as he describes the horrible details of his life, the casually procrustean culture of slavery America...the very entity which casually excised his family from him, forever denying him maternal and paternal love, fraternal love, the gift of owning one's own soul...so much was denied him that it would take da...
I thought this narrative was brilliant. It evoked my sense of justice for the people who are racially discriminated. Fredrick Douglass is a great writer. Through using literary elements such as imagery, metaphor and many more, Douglass illustrates the reader the pain and the discrimination that the slaves had to suffer through. I will recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learninga about slavery.
The Complete Autobiographies of Frederic Douglas, Hardback, An African American Heritage Book may be the single most important book I have ever read. Whatever your thoughts and opinions on contemporary race related issues, Critical Race Theory or Black Lives Matter, even Defunding Police are by right, yours to have. It may just be that whatever your opinion, it is not fully informed until you have read, Frederick Douglas. It is rare to read something that is not merely a good read, Douglas write...
The first part of the book is about his upbringing during slavery. Prior to his escape, he attempted to run away many times which resulted in severe punishments. In the book, he places the reader in the psychological condition of slavery and the brutality of white people towards the black folks. In part one, around chapter twelve, he talks about the story of his escape. It was common at that time for white people to encourage slaves to escape only to go after them to send them back to slavery to...
This edition contains three versions of Frederick Douglass' autobiography, one written in his youth, shortly after escaping slavery, the second as a young man deeply engaged in the fight for abolition, and the third in his old age, with further information on his life after the Civil War and emancipation, during which time he continued to fight for equal justice for all and was appointed to positions of importance by the federal government. Due to the circumstances of his early life in slavery,
This book includes all three of Frederick Douglass's extraordinary autobiographies, each building on the one before and adding more details as it became safe to do so. It also includes some of his speeches and letters. An exceptionally gifted writer, he brings the horrors of his life as a slave in eastern Maryland vividly to life. His insights into the profound psychic damage that slavery inflicts both on the slave and on the slave-holder are especially powerful and still resonate today, in our
Hands down my favorite book.
A great inspirational and educational readVery glad I was able to get the collection in one volume like this. Seeing the evolution of Douglas and the experiences he faced, brought life into the reading and context to the things he faced and sadly to some things we face now. Particularly in regards to ignorance. It was the great slave master that he recognised was the thing he had to overcome first before he would have his freedom. Thankfully, this he did and we now have three great inspirational...
I saw a gigantic portrait of Frederick Douglass in the Civil War Museum in Gettysburg in 2015 and have wanted to read a book about him ever since. So I thought, what better option is there than to choose his own biographies? It took me about a month to read all three of them, but I don't have any regrets. On the contrary, I can recommend it to everyone. At least his third autobiography should be compulsary reading in schools, be it in the USA or elsewhere! What an intelligent and eloquent man, F...
A collection of Frederick Douglass’ three autobiographies: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. Douglass’ story is compelling and he shares a lot of interesting background information on the politics and history of his time, but each of the three autobiographies in the book start with the same stories told in a slightly different manner (being a slave, escaping to freedom, and working as an abolitionist), making the exe...