Reviews for Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

The average rating for Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-03-06 00:00:00 Sean Crain Thank you Mr. Douglass…this was a life changer for me. You are a true American hero and the fact that there are not more monuments, government buildings, holidays or other commemorations of your life seems to me an oversight of epic proportions. How often is it that you can honestly say that you'll never be the same after reading a book? Well, this life story of a singular individual has changed me....irrevocably. I will never be able to sufficiently express my gratitude to Mr. Douglass for that extraordinary gift of insight. I'm just not sure how to properly express how deeply this story impacted me both with its content and its delivery. Impressive seems such a shallow word. I guess I will call it a unique and special experience and simply state that this autobiography has been added to my list of All Time Favorites . Being a fan of history, in general, and American history, in particular, I was somewhat familiar with Frederick Douglass and his reputation for being a great orator and a tireless opponent of slavery. However, this is the first time I've actually read any of his writings and I was blown away, utterly, by the intellect, character and strength of this American hero. And make no mistake, this man was a HERO in every sense of the word. I can imagine few people in a generation with the combination of intelligence, strength of character, sense of morality, charity and indomitable will as Frederick Douglass. Here is a man who, as a slave with little or no free time to himself, spent every spare moment he had teaching himself to read and write. Think about that. In a very telling passage, Douglass says that he knew how important it was to educate himself because of how vehemently his master was opposed to it. I'm paraphrasing, but his message was, 'What my master saw as the greatest evil, I knew to be a perfect good.' Such determination and clarity of thought boggles the mind. Rarely have a come across a person whose moral fiber I admire more (John Adams being the other historical figure that jumps to mind). On the issue of slavery itself, I am resolved that there could be no better description of the horrendous evil of slavery than this book. I previously read Uncle Tom's Cabin and, while an important novel, that story had nowhere near the effect on me that this one did. Again, thank you Mr. Douglass. While there are many aspects of the narrative that are worthy of note (the quality of prose, the excellent balance between details and pace and the fascinating events described), the most memorably impressive thing to me was the tone used by Frederick Douglass to describe his life and the people he came in contact with during his time both as a slave and after securing his freedom. Despite having seen and personally endured staggering brutality at the hands of white slave owners, Douglass never, NEVER comes across as bitter or hate-filled towards all white people. Had I been in his position, I am not sure I could have been so charitable with my outlook. He speaks frankly and in stark terms about the evil and brutality suffered by himself and his fellow slaves. He sees great wrong and he confronts it boldly with his writing. However, he never generalizes people beyond his indictment of slavery and slave holders. He doesn't stereotype or extend his anger beyond those whom he rightfully condemns. That is a person of great strength and even greater charity. The dignity of the man is humbling to behold. After finishing this inspirational, never-be-the-same autobiography, Frederick Douglass has joined my pantheon of American heroes right along side George Washington and John Adams. I plan to read further works by Douglass and can not more strenuously urge others to do the same. 6.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!

Review # 2 was written on 2015-10-26 00:00:00 Luigi Antonelli Time for a reread! What I like more about Douglass than anything else at all is his clear thinking on subject peoples. He saw that the discrimination against blacks and women was from an identical stance. That white men were imposing a structure of equality and entitlement that placed them at the top, and everyone else far beneath them. Indeed America's much lauded equality didn't apply to Blacks as they property not people. It hasn't changed much in very many countries, if not all, but you can change the descriptive'white' to whichever group of men have ensured they are sitting at the top of the economic and social freedom tree. But it is always men. In the UK, where Douglass was on a speaking tour with William Wilberforce, he emphasised that the emancipation of slavery had also to include that of women whose condition was also as owned property with few rights. There is a quote I very much like: "I asked them why when they persecute men, for religion or colour it was seen by the world as oppression and when they persecute women, it was dismissed as tradition." The Goodreads author, Emer Martin The real reason I am going to reread this book is this wonderful review, "I love the review on here that says, "This book was kind of hard to get into because of the high level words used in this book." In the 21st century a grown adult/product of the USA's educational system finds the vocabulary of a self-taught 19th century slave beyond their comprehension, seriously? God Bless America."