When I Was a Slave : Memoirs from the Slave Narrative Collection (Dover Thrift Editions)

Rating:
Summary: Real Eye Opener
Review: I always like reading 1st person accounts because through them the reader gets a true feeling about the event, and this book is no exception. By reading the narratives you can really visualize how life was for the slaves. This is not a book of "horror stories" about slavery (although the horrors of slavery do come out!) and many of the slaves say they were treated "well"; but are humans who are treated like livestock really treated "well"? That is left up to the reader to decide. I would recommend this book for anyone, and especially those studying or teaching about the civil war.

Rating:
Summary: Real Eye Opener
Review: I always like reading 1st person accounts because through them the reader gets a true feeling about the event, and this book is no exception. By reading the narratives you can really visualize how life was for the slaves. This is not a book of "horror stories" about slavery (although the horrors of slavery do come out!) and many of the slaves say they were treated "well"; but are humans who are treated like livestock really treated "well"? That is left up to the reader to decide. I would recommend this book for anyone, and especially those studying or teaching about the civil war.

Rating:
Summary: Great Collection of Life Stories as Told By Actual Slaves
Review: I was captured by the frankness and brutal honesty depicted in these slave narratives. The stories are varied and I am reminded that yes, slavery was horrific and barbaric but these were people and as such all have different experiences. African Americans in this country are at a clear disadvantage in terms of understanding our heritage and reading these stories kept reminding me of that fact.

That's a good thing because this collection covers the gamut of slavery. Unimagineable cruelty to high society life, all led by slaves. Each story is kept short but in the end you have a better view of the people component of slavery not just a view of the "institution of slavery." There was one story about a family run plantation that was considered fairer than most in that they didn't beat, brand or mistreat their slaves. During the course of the Civil War slave families are torn apart and taken away. After the Civil War, these particular plantation owners went looking for all their former slaves as most were starving or being worked in worse conditions than pre Civil War. One former slave girl they found wanted to find her mother and siblings and they set about helping her to do that. In the end she actually finds her mother and a few siblings in another state but it would not have been possible without the assistance of her former owners. This story imparts that there were people who understood that skin color does not mean you lack feelings, that states like Texas were horrible slave raiding states and that the south after the Civil War wasn't a good place to be if you were a former slave.

This is a good book to read if you want that overview and being 149 pages it's not overly long. It's also great if you have to pick it up and put it down as each story is only a few pages long.