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Summary: An important, tragic, thought-provoking book.
Review: I must confess I first picked up this biography last year as part of an assignment for my AP United States History class because of its relatively short length. What I found was a profound, thought-provoking narrative about Douglass' life as a slave. The language is not verbose but rather clear and cogent. I find that the phrase "a must-read" has become somewhat of a cliché when used today but this book is truly that in every sense. It is "a must-read" because it gives an idea of the horror it was to be a slave from someone with first-hand experience. Yet Douglass writes to educate, not to shock. It isn't necessary to have a special interest in slavery to appreciate this book; rather one must have an interest in identity. Before you do anything else, read this book. It will change your perception of America's past and America's present.
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Summary: Frederick Douglass is a "must read".
Review: ABC, NBC, CBS will never be able to accurately describe what's wrong in a world of unrestrained corporate power. Why would a former slave find such a world worse than slavery? Read Frederick Douglass' account of his journey to Ireland and you'll understand why. Frederick Douglass should be read by anyone interested in democracy, freedom, or equality.
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Summary: a stark and efficient impression of slavery
Review: I don't think I ever would have read this book if I did not have to teach it. I found it to be eloquent in both writing style as well as content. My 1968 Signet printing begins with a preface written in 1845 by William Lloyd Garrison. Written in the midst and passion of early abolitionism, Garrison's albeit well-meaning comments are much too preachy, long-winded and redundant; and could probably deter anyone from going on with the book. After a couple of pages of this preface, I put it aside and delved right into Douglass' narrative, and did not return to the preface until after I finished the book. Douglass, however, writes more like the early moderns than his 19th century contemporaries. Highly efficient in his syntax and word choice, he creates images and impressions in a sentence or two which are more powerful than what might take other authors 2 pages. While Douglass, in no uncertain terms, conveys the stark horrors of slavery, he never dwells on them. He r! ushes the narrative to the light at the end of the tunnel, his escape, where he and us both come to the harsh realization that escape to the North is not the end of his torments, but the beginning of new ones. I was most fascinated by the moment in time in which this piece was written. Douglass is not looking back and writing this as a free man in post Civil War America, but rather as an escaped fugitive slave in an America where slavery was still very much a fact of life and the Civil War was 2 decades away. This creates a distinct tone of panic and desperation throughout the narrative. In addition, in its brief 120 pages, Douglass uses this narrative to make several important points about slavery and life: slavery destroys the slave holder as well as the slave, no slaves does not equal a lack of prosperity for a country, the value of education is most appreciated by those who are denied it, and there is a vast difference between the "Christianity of Christ" an! d "slaveholding religion."
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Summary: For everyone
Review: 'Narrative' is a wonderful work in two different ways. First, it portrays the life of the American slave with brutal honesty, putting the reader alongside the slave laboring in the fields, the slave being whipped, and the slave running away. Second, it is a story of a growth and acquistion of personal autonomy. Douglass outlines his early life in such a way that the reader observes the development of his conscience from a young boy into a young man. Simple and powerful prose coupled with vivid detail make this a truly great work.
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Summary: The kind of book you want everyone to read ...
Review: That booklist on your nightstand? Set it aside for 2 days ... The other day, I was in the bookstore at SeaTac Airport starving for a book of substance. In the literature section, among the few stale, pseudo-classics, I found a book that I had never seen nor heard of before: "The Life of Frederick Douglass" by himself. You HAVE to read this book ... especially if you think you already know what slavery was about. It makes Roots look like a Disney special. It is a shocking portrayal of inhumanity. It's also very uplifting to see proof that a person raised in the most inhuman conditions and forcefully deprived of any education can turn around and be so intellegent and such an excellent writer. Accomplished through the shere will, desire to know the truth and determination to control his own destiny. He also provides some interesting views on organized Christianity in this country which is still applicable to this day. You can read it in a day or so ... I couldn't put it down. I'm quite ashamed to say that it is the first book I have EVER read by a black author (I can say with 95% confidence). If you find yourself in this same shameful situation, this is the book to start with.
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Summary: A powerful exhibition of inextinguishable human dignity
Review: This is the book I would send someone to who wanted to learn about human dignity. This is not a book for blacks or whites alone, but for anyone who needs a graphic example of a human being refusing to respect himself and forego his rights as a human being. Douglass's NARRATIVE was published during that period of time known as "The American Renaissance," and this work certainly stands comparison with the other great works of that period by Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Whitman, and Melville.
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Summary: a brief but penetrating work
Review: This book is one of the most important first-hand documents of American history, and certainly one of the most moving memoirs I have read. Douglass astounds with the depth and breadth of his insight into the corrosive effects of slavery - on both the slaves and their masters. He is able to use his personal experiences and agonies to formulate a penetrating analysis of a murderous system. You would have to search far and wide to find someone else with comparable clarity and strength of intellect.
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Summary: This book is boring
Review: I found this book hard to read and boring. If you are interested in the subject by all means give it a read.
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Summary: This book is sad, but is definitely a necessity to read.
Review: This book is an explicit autobiography of the life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass talks of the life he livedon the southern plantations and the miseries which he induced. He also speaks of different events which occurred duringhis lifetime, like changing masters and eventually, although he doesn't describe the method of it, his escape from the south, toward the north. I highly recommend this novel.
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Summary: Very Good
Review: I had to read this for a freshman history class. I dreaded it before because I usually hate historical nonfiction biographies, but I was quite surprised. Anytime somebody says that Affirmative Action is necessary because of past wrongs, I direct them to read this book. This man had the drive to learn to read in secret (at the age of 8) and ultimately escape to the free North to become an author. And his conditions were FAR worse than anybody's today! It's a very inspirational novel. It details the horrors of the slaves having to be split from their families and the hardships they had to endure. It also gave some insight to the mindsets of the slave owners. This is not a long book and is well worth an afternoon.
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