Rating: 
Summary: The power of a positive thinker
Review: "Up from slavery" documents the rise of Booker T. Washington, from a plantation slave to the head of Tuskegee college in Alabama. Along the way his narrative details the squalor and humiliations of his childhood and ends with a number of journalistic adulations regarding his career and speeches. It is a wonderful book, yet curious. Unlike Frederick Douglass, the severe critic of the slaveholding South, Washington's outlook is decidedly postive. He refuses to get into any kind of individual or group bashing, but prefers to dwell on the successes of blacks, improving race relations, and the success of his school- and students. He becomes enamored of his own success on the stump, but such is the case with most ambitious, forward looking individuals. I would have liked a bit more criticism, and fewer excerpts from the newspapers of his time (regarding his speech-making ability.) His repeated refrains about service and merit (being the only true measure of a man), are sound. All in all, this is an upbeat, inspiring story from a man who truly defied the odds, and his winning attitude is sorely needed today.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely Inspirational!
Review: A lot of things have been said and written concerning Booker Taliaferro Washington's book, "Up From Slavery". Some were hot, and some were cold. But one focus that unites all the varying opinions is that every critic or reviewer agreed that the book is superb. Also, most people acknowledged that Booker T. was a distinguished scholar (despite the overwhelming odds that weighed him down).
However, one big fact that most reviewers of this work have consistently overlooked is the circumstances that surrounded both the book and its writer. In order to have an accurate perspective of this book, we must not fail to evaluate what life was like for Booker T. After all, the book in question is his autobiography: written in a country where he was born and nurtured as a slave, before becoming a freeman whose basic human rights were consistently denied.
One fact that pops up in this regard is that Mr. Washington was never free in the real sense of the word. The type of freedom a typical Black American enjoys today was an unseen luxury throughout Booker T's life: (1856-1915).
In the same period, the life expectancy of an average Black American was less than half of what it is today. This was not because the folks then were all HIV-positive, but simply because any White man could barbecue a Black man right on the street and nothing would happen.
That Booker T. chose not to criticize the grievous atrocities that the ubiquitous racists meted on American Negroes is understandable. It was not a matter of choice per se, rather, the swain wanted to stay alive. He understood his environment well, and had a first-class knowledge of how racist America worked. Again, it is only a dummy who wouldn't know that the (first) publisher of "Up From Slavery" wouldn't have considered the manuscript if it contained anything that will embarrass or infuriate White America. And, Booker T. Washington might be made to pay a ghastly price for authoring an "offensive write-up". We must not forget that this book was written a century ago: when "freedom" and "justice" were very different from what it is today. In those days, many "critical" Black-oriented manuscripts ended-up in dustbins; and their authors were vilified and hunted down.
Today's critics who relax in comfortable armchairs and bellow that this book "lacked depth" in this way and that way, weren't born as Booker T. was; and I forgive them each time they use that word: 'slavery', in vain. Booker T. died in 1915, and history will always attest that Black Americans continued to struggle for freedom more than fifty years after his death.
An old adage has it that: 'A word is enough for the wise'. Thus, I will like to end my comments here. "Up From Slavery" is a very fine book. It is small: less than 250 pages. Hence, I don't need to review or analyze it with a thousand pages. Mr. Booker T. Washington did his best: given the insurmountable circumstances that surrounded his world.
Rating:
Summary: An Extraordinary Struggle Fueled by Boundless Optimism!
Review: A riveting account of Washington's extraordinary struggle fueled by boundless optimism. However, Washington's faith appears overly buoyant when he writes the following about the Ku Klux Klan: 'To-day there are no such organizations in the South, and the fact that such ever existed is almost forgotten by both races. There are few places in the South now where public sentiment would permit such organizations to exist.' Of course, a hundred years later the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations are alive and well in the U.S. I was surprised to discover that this book - although published in 1901 - employs British (rather than American) spellings for words such as "labour" (labor) and "colour" (color). This is an important document of its time that must be read by anyone with the mildest interest in world history and the human condition that shapes it.
Rating:
Summary: What a Legacy!
Review: Booker T. Washington lived his life on target. He had a purpose and he made a lasting contribution. Washington was a Christian, a scholar, a motivator, a writer, an educator, a role model, a scientist, and more. Look at his life, what he wrote and how he approached life and you will see similarities between his thoughts and those of other achievers. Such individuals usually: read extensively, travel widely, and pursue education. This book is loaded with Christian success principles that transcend time and location. I found this book to be extremely inspiring. What would BTW do if he had the internet?
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and uplifting
Review: In 1901, Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) published this autobiography. Born into slavery, after emancipation, Mr. Washington developed a philosophy that African-Americans needed to sweep away the ignorance that their subservient position had left them with, and earn the respect of the whites through hard work and excellence. In 1881 he founded the Tuskegee Institute to teach African-Americans how to study, how to work hard and intelligently (producing better results than the white businesses of the day), and how to have respect for themselves and others. This is Mr. Washington's story of his youth and his success at Tukegee. This is a fascinating and uplifting book. Though cognizant of the racism that often surrounded him, Mr. Washington never lost his faith in the basic goodness of the people of all colors that he met. The only problem I had with this excellent book was the knowledge I could not shake, that Mr. Washington's faith was not rewarded, and the white community of the day would not give the African-American community respect and fair treatment. That said, though, this is a great and wonderful book, which should rightly be considered an American classic. If you want to read a book that is a window on the America of the late nineteenth century, or if you want an uplifting book about a man of faith and love, then I highly recommend that you get this book!
Rating:
Summary: the beautiful Booker Taliaferro Washington
Review: Let me start off by letting you know I am a 16 year old...
Upon looking through the history section of the bookstore I came across "Up From Slavery", the autobiography of Booker T. Washington. I could easily recall reading about him in US history. Interested, I decided to buy it.. Well I ended up staying up all night reading this book... Washington entails his life story of endeavers and prosperity gained. He describes of how he raised himself up from slavery through sacrifices and struggles. With the self-reward of obtaining education he decided to develope the Tuskegee Institution to help further educate his peoples. As well he established a bond between, not only blacks and whites, but southerners and northerners (during post-civil war times). He talks on how as people, one should educate themselves not only in books but in labor as well. In doing so, one will achieve full-on success. "Up from Slavery" enlightened me so much more on Washington. I have gained an enormous amount of respect for this intriguingly compelling man. I really do feel a great sensation of pride in our history when I think about Washington and his achievements for this nation. Beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: the beautiful Booker Taliaferro Washington
Review: Let me start off by letting you know I am a 16 year old...
Upon looking through the history section of the bookstore I came across "Up From Slavery", the autobiography of Booker T. Washington. I could easily recall reading about him in US history. Interested, I decided to buy it.. Well I ended up staying up all night reading this book... Washington entails his life story of endeavers and prosperity gained. He describes of how he raised himself up from slavery through sacrifices and struggles. With the self-reward of obtaining education he decided to develope the Tuskegee Institution to help further educate his peoples. As well he established a bond between, not only blacks and whites, but southerners and northerners (during post-civil war times). He talks on how as people, one should educate themselves not only in books but in labor as well. In doing so, one will achieve full-on success. "Up from Slavery" enlightened me so much more on Washington. I have gained an enormous amount of respect for this intriguingly compelling man. I really do feel a great sensation of pride in our history when I think about Washington and his achievements for this nation. Beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: the beautiful Booker Taliaferro Washington
Review: Let me start off by saying I'm a 16 year old female... Upon looking through the history section of the store I discovered "Up From Slavery", the autobiography of Booker T. Washington. I could easily recall reading about him in US history. Interested, I decided to buy it.. Well I ended up staying up all night reading this book. Washington entails his life story of endeavers and prosperity gained. He describes of how he raised himself up from slavery through sacrifices and struggles. With the self-reward of obtaining education he decided to develope the Tuskegee Institution to help further educate his peoples. As well he established a bond between, not only blacks and whites, but southerners and northerners (during post-civil war times). He talks on how as people, one should educate themselves not only in books but in labor as well. In doing so, one will achieve full-on success. "Up from Slavery" enlightened me so much more on Washington and his role in shaping the free life we as americans, live today. I have gained an enormous amount of respect for this intriguingly compelling man. I really do feel a great sensation of pride in our history when I think about Washington and his achievements for this nation. Beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening historical narrative, with public speaking bits
Review: This book is a fascinating historical account of the atmosphere of America during Reconstruction. The opinions of an ex-slave on matters of racial relations, education, suffrage, and so forth are certainly worth considering in any study of this period. I loved Booker T. Washington's autobiography for this. But I also enjoy this book because it has character. Mr. Washington gives bits of advice on how to be a good public speaker - as he was a speaker of much renown - and this was quite delightful as I have often been somewhat confused by such matters. Add to this his endearing stories of the white and black races, and you have yourself an extremely worthwhile and enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-written statement of the conservative approach . . .
Review: This is a very well-written statement of the conservative approach to the quest for Black equality. Written as Booker T. Washington's autobiography, it is important to keep in mind that part of the purpose of this book was to recruit donors to fund the Tuskegee Institute--which meant that Washington needed to emphasize that he was an accomodationist and not in any way a radical. That being said, some of the sentiments expressed in this book seem very over-optimistic in retrospect. For example, Washington says he believes that whites in the South will grant blacks full political rights of their own accord, when blacks are mature enough to deserve them, because people are innately good and will do the right thing. The end of Reconstruction and the advent of Jim Crow laws, along with the intensity of the battle for civil rights, showed him to be mistaken on that point--which is partly why he was eventually eclipsed as a leader by W.E.B. DuBois. Still, this book is a fascinating autobiography and a great statement of the moderate, gradualist approach to attaining equality.
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