Celia, A Slave

Rating:
Summary: A few pages that should be read by all
Review: "Yet the lives of lesser figures, men and women who lived and died in virtual autonomy, often better illustrate certain aspects of the major issures of a perticular period than do (others who achieve national prominence)". The introduction my Melton A. McLaurin sets up a well researched and thought out work regarding the life of a female slave, caught killing her owner for raping her over a period of years. The author does two very important things very well in this book. He demonstates in very real terms the hopelessness of women in particular during this sordid period or American history AND he places in a timeline perspective just before the outbreak of the Civil War when tensions were high, especially in her "home" state of Missouri, where the stakes could not have been higher with the question of the expansion of slavery into newly admitted states was being hotly contensted. While it would be impossible to argue that she would ever get a fair "trial" McLaurin astutely walks us through a real defense team doing their best in a time period where ANY notion of fairness is null and void and, specifically, why this is the case.

This book is a must read for any serious students of the "peculiar institution". It is remarkable how the author takes an "anonomous" life and demonstrates how and individual could be and was treated as property and degraded to the depths of our ability to comprehend while weaving in the fast moving antibellum period and the legislation, politics and emotions of the time.

Rating:
Summary: A story which, although worth telling...
Review: ...was hardly told with any sort of talent. This book is a virtually word-for-word historical account of the life and death of Celia; a slave who was tried for killing a master for attempting to defile her. This book tells a story that needs to be told, and on the other end, that needs to be heard, about the extent to which human corruption has been allowed to rampage unchecked in the past of our country.
The problem that human corruption still rampages every bit as unchecked through our current country is not addressed, but rather, the book dwells almost solely on the single incident in question.
I've told you that this story, unlike some stories, deserves to be told, and deserves to be heard. What's truly sad is how the writing style in this book will prevent so many people from actually reading it.
The front cover of the book loudly announces that it is "based on a true story." In fact, it's not "based" on anything. It IS a true story. I define the difference in this way; a story BASED on a true story will sometimes embellish or at least phrase the text in the form of a narrative, for the purpose of providing a single, connected tale that can be followed and appreciated by a casual reader. I read this book because my little brother was assigned it for school reading, and if I had not felt compelled to finish by such a personal motive, I would have dropped it before finishing chapter 1.
Too often in this story, we are told "Celia may have done this," or "evidence supports this belief" or "This may have happened, but we can't prove it," like a crumby history textbook. Still more destructive to this volume is the fact that every two paragraphs or so, the main topic of the novel (Celia, her trial, etc...) is interrupted for a series of incidental and largely irrelivent facts about slavery and the political processes that went into the governments/courts of the time.
Furthermore, on the back of the book, it claims to "produce the kind of anger that never goes away." My anger was principally with the unfeeling tones set by the writer, who would consistently narrate the horrors of the situation as though he were a person virtually impartial to what he was telling us about. The relating of such horrors without seeming the least bit disgusted by them made the writer seem, in my mind, just as odious a creature as any of the people he described, (and didn't describe very well, leaving out, again, like a history text, all things of narrative import, like mood, personality, appearance and so forth.)
Maybe the next time a truly important story of this sort is released, it will be done in a manner that will welcome the casual reader, instead of being something that only a dedicated historian can enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A story which, although worth telling...
Review: ...was hardly told with any sort of talent. This book is a virtually word-for-word historical account of the life and death of Celia; a slave who was tried for killing a master for attempting to defile her. This book tells a story that needs to be told, and on the other end, that needs to be heard, about the extent to which human corruption has been allowed to rampage unchecked in the past of our country.
The problem that human corruption still rampages every bit as unchecked through our current country is not addressed, but rather, the book dwells almost solely on the single incident in question.
I've told you that this story, unlike some stories, deserves to be told, and deserves to be heard. What's truly sad is how the writing style in this book will prevent so many people from actually reading it.
The front cover of the book loudly announces that it is "based on a true story." In fact, it's not "based" on anything. It IS a true story. I define the difference in this way; a story BASED on a true story will sometimes embellish or at least phrase the text in the form of a narrative, for the purpose of providing a single, connected tale that can be followed and appreciated by a casual reader. I read this book because my little brother was assigned it for school reading, and if I had not felt compelled to finish by such a personal motive, I would have dropped it before finishing chapter 1.
Too often in this story, we are told "Celia may have done this," or "evidence supports this belief" or "This may have happened, but we can't prove it," like a crumby history textbook. Still more destructive to this volume is the fact that every two paragraphs or so, the main topic of the novel (Celia, her trial, etc...) is interrupted for a series of incidental and largely irrelivent facts about slavery and the political processes that went into the governments/courts of the time.
Furthermore, on the back of the book, it claims to "produce the kind of anger that never goes away." My anger was principally with the unfeeling tones set by the writer, who would consistently narrate the horrors of the situation as though he were a person virtually impartial to what he was telling us about. The relating of such horrors without seeming the least bit disgusted by them made the writer seem, in my mind, just as odious a creature as any of the people he described, (and didn't describe very well, leaving out, again, like a history text, all things of narrative import, like mood, personality, appearance and so forth.)
Maybe the next time a truly important story of this sort is released, it will be done in a manner that will welcome the casual reader, instead of being something that only a dedicated historian can enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but tedious and unstimulating
Review: Based on the content and the depthness of the book, it would be a great book to discuss and read in a college course on African American history/literature.

I agree with another reviewer that this book read like a story out of a history textbook. Although interesting, I think this book would have better served its purpose if written as a historical fictiopn. Plus, I got tired of having to turn to the Notes section for supporting details and background information.

Rating:
Summary: Celia, A Travesty of Justice
Review: Celia, A Slave, is a short yet powerful and sobering book. Suitable for age 15 and up, it is for anyone interested in women's/human rights, African-American History, and even Civil War buffs. It is a true story that is difficult to read in some places. Yet it is an important, very different book. I wish everyone would read this book.

The story of Celia, a slave without even a last name, is the story of how impossible justice was for the African-American slaves of the antebellum South. Despite the valiant efforts of her defense attorneys, Celia's trial was a farce; she never had a chance at a fair trial. The judge had determined her fate before the trial commenced. Why did the trial take place even though it was predetermined? The answer lies in the instituition of slavery itself.

At the time of Celia's trial in 1885, slavery was tearing the country apart. In Missouri, where Celia killed her master, pro-slavery forces fierily debated abolitionists over whether or not the Kansas Territory would be settled as a slave or a free state.

The individual players in Celia belonged to the culture of slavery as much as Celia herself. Robert Newsom, Celia's master, was the patriarch of his household. His two adult daughters possessed more legal rights than slaves: albeit not much more. They depended upon their father for their support and survival. If the women felt any sympathy for Celia, who had approached them personally for help, it was likely surpassed by fear of being thrown out by their father.

Rather than point fingers and shake heads in regret of the travesty of justice to Celia, we should think of the present-day inequities that need our attention and commitment. Will we have the courage to see the cause through to the bitter end? Hopefully our efforts will not also be in vain.

Rating:
Summary: Celia, A Travesty of Justice
Review: Celia, A Slave, is a short yet powerful and sobering book. Suitable for age 15 and up, it is for anyone interested in women's/human rights, African-American History, and even Civil War buffs. It is a true story that is difficult to read in some places. Yet it is an important, very different book. I wish everyone would read this book.

The story of Celia, a slave without even a last name, is the story of how impossible justice was for the African-American slaves of the antebellum South. Despite the valiant efforts of her defense attorneys, Celia's trial was a farce; she never had a chance at a fair trial. The judge had determined her fate before the trial commenced. Why did the trial take place even though it was predetermined? The answer lies in the instituition of slavery itself.

At the time of Celia's trial in 1885, slavery was tearing the country apart. In Missouri, where Celia killed her master, pro-slavery forces fierily debated abolitionists over whether or not the Kansas Territory would be settled as a slave or a free state.

The individual players in Celia belonged to the culture of slavery as much as Celia herself. Robert Newsom, Celia's master, was the patriarch of his household. His two adult daughters possessed more legal rights than slaves: albeit not much more. They depended upon their father for their support and survival. If the women felt any sympathy for Celia, who had approached them personally for help, it was likely surpassed by fear of being thrown out by their father.

Rather than point fingers and shake heads in regret of the travesty of justice to Celia, we should think of the present-day inequities that need our attention and commitment. Will we have the courage to see the cause through to the bitter end? Hopefully our efforts will not also be in vain.

Rating:
Summary: The Horrors Of Black Slavery/a world many refuse2 talkabout
Review: I don't understand all the acclaim for this book. It raises a few interesting issues and provides a little information on race and gender relations in the pre-Civil War south, but that's all. As far as the story of Celia herself goes, the author provides remarkably little detail. In fact, I have never read any "history" with so many admissions that the author doesn't know the facts. Instead, he repeatedly speculates on what likely happened after admitting there is no evidence on the point. And as far as the broader picture of slavery goes, most of it is pretty cusory and often it is simplistic. Still, I give it two stars instead of one for the few interesting points and because the underlying story of Celia is both important and interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic ... Rewarding
Review: I read this book after a history professor mentioned her casein class. It was not required reading material, but it soundedinteresting.

This book was purely based on historical facts, which often leave out a great deal of detail, but the author addresses some possible implications of certain documentable facts within the trial.

This book is great, and everyone should read it in order to better understand the "Peculiar Institution" of our nation's past.

Rating:
Summary: Read more, learn more, do more.
Review: In this short book, Melton McLaurin has accomplished more than many historians accomplish in hundreds of pages.

In this book the reader is drawn into the complicated world of antebellum America. In lucid prose, he simultaneously shows the ideology behind antebellum mastery, the connection between seemingly insignificant individuals and national politics, the hypocritical facade of the justice system, one woman's struggle to live under brutal oppression, and offers a compelling story that has a bit of mystery in it.

He accomplishes this monumental task with clarity and transparency despite substantial holes in the documentary evidence. His work is a model to show how historians can write for a popular audience and not oversimplify, nor fictionalize, the past.

We cannot forget that America enslaved more than 4 million black people, tortured them, raped them, and stole their wages, then, after "freeing" them, forced them to live in apartheid-like conditions for nearly one hundred years. Every American must read books like Celia to confront their past. Even those who came more recently need to recognize that the wealth and the freedoms of the United States that drew millions to our nation, rests upon the back of four million unvoluntary laborers.

Read more, learn more, do more.

Rating:
Summary: Read more, learn more, do more.
Review: In this short book, Melton McLaurin has accomplished more than many historians accomplish in hundreds of pages.

In this book the reader is drawn into the complicated world of antebellum America. In lucid prose, he simultaneously shows the ideology behind antebellum mastery, the connection between seemingly insignificant individuals and national politics, the hypocritical facade of the justice system, one woman's struggle to live under brutal oppression, and offers a compelling story that has a bit of mystery in it.

He accomplishes this monumental task with clarity and transparency despite substantial holes in the documentary evidence. His work is a model to show how historians can write for a popular audience and not oversimplify, nor fictionalize, the past.

We cannot forget that America enslaved more than 4 million black people, tortured them, raped them, and stole their wages, then, after "freeing" them, forced them to live in apartheid-like conditions for nearly one hundred years. Every American must read books like Celia to confront their past. Even those who came more recently need to recognize that the wealth and the freedoms of the United States that drew millions to our nation, rests upon the back of four million unvoluntary laborers.

Read more, learn more, do more.