This graphic narrative starts with the birth of Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, later Frederick Douglass by his own choice, into slavery in 1818 on the Eastern Shore (of Maryland) and ends with his death 77 years later (1895) of a heart attack, after attending and receiving a standing ovation at a meeting of the National Council of Women. Douglass wrote three versions of his autobiography and David F. Walker tells his story from Douglas' point of view and by paraphrasing, for the most part...

What graphic novels do best, is open literature and ideas up to a wider audience, an audience that might never pick up a book that was filled with just words alone. Graphic novels may have an easier entry point, but they can and have in the past 30 years or so that they have become popular, been able to tell stories that would not work in a simple print medium.In his lifetime, Frederick Douglass his autobiography three different times, in three different books. He knew the power of words, and wr...

I used to teach Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, but I’ve never read his other autobiographies. This feels like a collection of all of them. There is so much to take in: visually and emotionally. I think this is a great way to take in such a grand historical figure’s life. The illustrations bring all of the words to life in a way that brings the reader closer to the subject. I wish I would have had this a few years ago because there are many excerpts from the text that could be explored thr...

My Canadian side is going to show in this review. I'd never heard of Frederick Douglass before this book showed up in my mailbox. I found this graphic novel to be enormously educational on the topics of slavery and the fight for emancipation.I loved the format. Reading non-fiction as a graphic novel was a new experience that I loved. It provided an engrossing experience that made the story memorable. I really liked the artwork and the way the author set down the story. It was easy to follow and

This two-fisted, dramatized biography of Frederick Douglass does a pretty good job of keeping the story flowing. The rough-hewn art really adds atmosphere even if it is lacking in authenticity (a poorly drawn axe and anachronistic cash register and revolving pistol stand out). A good introduction to an important figure in American history.

The life of Fredrick Douglass was a great book that truly told the life of Fredrick Douglass! From the beginning to the end I enjoyed Fredrick's character and they way it was told... I learned different facts through his character that I wouldn't have known! I also like the side facts it told in the other pages. Something I wasn't fond of in the book was that sometimes it felt like I was reading really long because of all the writing per section, but besides that I really enjoyed the book!

This was a good introduction into his life and a powerful read in a graphic novel format.

Douglass's story is compelling; the writing somewhat less so. It falls into blandness often for a story so filled with violence, heroism, and righteous struggle.The illustration is hit and miss. The preponderance of monochrome backgrounds gave a lot of pages a cheap or unfinished look but I loved the way people were drawn, particularly Douglass's craggy, care-worn, leonine features.It is a fascinating trip through history and reminded me how little I actually know. Abraham Lincoln was not, in fa...

I am a newbie when it comes to the history of America or on the topic of slavery or the American Civil War. But what I love about the American pop-culture like movies or graphic novels is that they make all these topics in a fascinating and extremely accessible manner to a layperson like me.I have been hearing about the name "Frederick Douglass" in my social media feed for quite a while. So a graphic novel on him really intrigued me, as it is relatively easy to read and finish it. This book is s...

Such an important book-can’t wait to put it in my classroom library.

This book gave me so much context for slavery that I did not get in my Louisiana public school education. Really informative, very well written

The art is gorgeous and the story is imperative. A dive into this incredible life that can be read in an afternoon? Why wouldn't I?

Great graphic novel telling of the life of Frederick Douglass. I learned a lot about this great person in American history. The graphic novel did an excellent job of telling his life story.

Wow. What a story. Frederick Douglass, the most photographed man on the 19th century (weird true fact) was a crucially important historical figure in American politics. A revolutionary, an abolitionist, an outspoken critic of injustices and wrongs, a man has held many positions and offices throughout his storied life started off as a slave. Once he found his way out, he dedicated his life to helping others do the same, on a large scale, effectively becoming a symbol of the potential that was be

I’ve become a big fan of historical/biographical nonfiction graphic novels. I do like to learn history but if it’s condensed a bit and with illustrations, well of course I’ll choose that over a textbook! This is another one I think everyone should read (middle school-aged on up). It was VERY well done and I cried near the end. I’ve read one of Frederick Douglass’s autobiographies, but probably a decade or more ago, although I remember it being FANTASTIC and have recommended it to others through

I purchased this book for my son after listening to an interview with the writer and being impressed with his research and exposition of how he created the book. I have taught "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave" perhaps twenty times at the high school and college, and I have just completed David W. Blight's scholarly tome, "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom", as well as six books on the life of John Brown and a couple of other books on the time period. It is a d...

Excellent nonfiction graphic biography, delving more into detail of Douglass’s life and writings. I learned some new things and was surprised of how much American history (colonies and revolution, Civil War, suffrage) I remembered when it was brought up. I really appreciated the interspersed background prose pages, giving extra context into events during or leading up to Douglass’s life. It anchored the narrative into a larger context without feeling like too much of a dry info dump.I could see

This is not the flashiest of graphic literature, though considering much of Douglass's life was spent as an orator, I think this did a pretty good job at providing an introduction to his life and work. It's volumes such as these that make me wish more like this was available in high school to add more dynamism and context to the past than the droning lectures of my US history teacher ever delivered. I may have been more excited about seeking out primary sources.

It’s funny how before you read a book the cover is what sometimes draw you to the book. When I looked at this cover I see the determination in Fredrick Douglas Face. I use to shy away from slavery books because it still hurt my core. I think of my ancestors in bondage and abused. Fredrick is a great man that will never been forgotten he was an abolitionist and writer. He fought against slavery, women rights and met with Presidents to discuss these issues. He even met great women Harriet Tubman a...

I read this after reading Kindred and it made a lot of the history that much more real. Douglass was an amazing man who really did change the world. Thank God for people like him and that he was able to tell his own story. The art was pretty rough, but seemed to match the tone of the book. Highly recommend this version, might be particularly interesting to kids. I plan on picking up one or more of his autobiographies at some point in the future.