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Rating: 
Summary: an 18th century spiritual and political autobiography
Review: As an American who has grown up hearing and learning about slavery and the slave trade in the US, and mainly in the 19th century, I appreciated the insight Equiano's book gives into the institution from other parts of the world, and in particular how racism evolved within an institution that had been taken for granted for centuries and had not been particularly racist.It is not the narrative of a victim. Not only does Equiano purchase his freedom halfway through the book, but also you can tell from the incidents he describes and from reading between the lines that he was a strong, even pugnacious person who didn't take any guff from people he did not respect. He was pragmatic, ambitious, and a fighter. While he accepted the social hierarchies of the time, including slavery itself until the latter part of his life, he shows no humility (except in terms of his spiritual condition). When he proposes to another person that he work for him as a servant, you get the feeling that he has just given that person an honor. Equiano's autobiography is important for many other reasons. It is very much a book of its time, the late 18th century, when spiritual autobiographies were important both to the writers and the readers. (Make sure that when you buy an edition of this book you do not buy an edition that has been abridged, as the account of Equiano's religious/spiritual development is what has been cut, making hamburger of what remains). He has wonderful, sometimes acid, comments, to make on the churches he observes at the time. For example, here's his comment on a church service run by the Rev. George Whitfield, at which people are crowding out into the yard and standing on ladders to see into the church: "When I got into the church I saw this pious man exhorting the people with the greatest fervor and earnestness, and sweating as much as ever I did while in slavery....I thought it strange I had never seen divines exert themselves in this manner before; and was no longer at a loss to account for the thin congregations they preached to." Equiano's autobiography is also a tale of his adventures: he served on board battle and merchant ships much of the time and saw action during the French and Indian war. He was also part of Phipps' search for a passge to India through the north pole, where their ship was frozen in ice just as Shackleford's was two centuries later. And finally, Equiano's life and story become entwined with the British abolition movement. His book was intended to serve the movement, raising revulsion by demonstrating the cruel and unethical practices that rose from slavery and appealing to logic and the reader's sense of shame. He is one of the earliest writers to point out a psychological blindess in slave holders, the denial and the double vision they had to develop in order to justify themselves. The very existence of the book, written by a literate, very bright, and comfortably wealthy former slave put the lie to the racist arguments that Africans were best suited to slavery. And in one part of the book that is reminiscent of Mary Wollestonecraft, he speaks passionately that the ignorance and helplessness that was so striking in so many slaves had nothing to do with nature, and everything to do with social conditioning.
Rating:
Summary: British Slavery???
Review: In fact, there was never any african slavery inside Britain itself. i.e. England, Scotland and Wales. But this book highlights how the British went to the Caribbean islands like Jamaica and Barbados; claimed it for themselves; and from there imported slaves from Africa to grow sugar cane. Equiano was one such slave who worked hard to buy back his freedom. He eventually walked the streets of London as a free man, but he became a sailor who was once again subjected to slavery once he left England - even as he travelled and worked on his ship - much to his disgust. Slavery existed in the British Empire but was not tolerated at any time within Britain itself. For that you'd have to study the Roman rule of Britain before the British Empire was established.
Rating:
Summary: allows for personal reflection....
Review: It is hard to rate a book like this... You must read it if you're even considering it and once you've read it, you should pass it on to someone else. Life dishes us a lot. Life dishes out some people more hardship than others and sometimes we get the opportunity to give ourselves and those we love a chance at a better life. Not only does this book tell a wonderful story of a man who found strength most of us never realize we possess, but in doing so - has proven the power of language, written and spoken. The world can be full of possobilities in even the most impossible situations - to say nothing of the horror we inflict upon each other...but that's another story.
Rating:
Summary: allows for personal reflection....
Review: It is hard to rate a book like this... You must read it if you're even considering it and once you've read it, you should pass it on to someone else. Life dishes us a lot. Life dishes out some people more hardship than others and sometimes we get the opportunity to give ourselves and those we love a chance at a better life. Not only does this book tell a wonderful story of a man who found strength most of us never realize we possess, but in doing so - has proven the power of language, written and spoken. The world can be full of possobilities in even the most impossible situations - to say nothing of the horror we inflict upon each other...but that's another story.
Rating: 
Summary: New Perspective on British Slavery
Review: Many books and movies focus on what slaves in America had to go through, but this book allows us to look at the experience of a slave who came to America to visit, but whose primary experiences of slavery were in Britain. Since the British abolished slavery decades before the U.S. did, people tend to forget that they were part of this terrible aspect of history too! Good for broadening your understanding.
Rating:
Summary: An early English novel, with a twist.
Review: This book has less to do with slavery and more to do with the quest for middle-class status in England. For comparison, one should also read "ROBINSON CRUSOE" by Daniel Defoe and "PAMELA" by Samuel Richardson.
Rating:
Summary: An early English novel, with a twist.
Review: This book has less to do with slavery and more to do with the quest for middle-class status in England. For comparison, one should also read "ROBINSON CRUSOE" by Daniel Defoe and "PAMELA" by Samuel Richardson.
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