Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Jun 2005 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Frederick Douglass's dramatic autobiographical account of his early life as a slave in America.

Born into a life of bondage, Frederick Douglass secretly taught himself to read and write. It was a crime punishable by death, but it resulted in one of the most eloquent indictments of slavery ever recorded. His gripping narrative takes us into the fields, cabins, and manors of pre–Civil War plantations in the South and reveals the daily terrors he suffered.
 
Written more than a century and a half ago by a Black man who went on to become a famous orator, U.S. minister to Haiti, and leader of his people, this timeless classic still speaks directly to our age. It is a record of savagery and inhumanity that goes far to explain why America still suffers from the great injustices of the past.
 
With an Introduction by Peter J. Gomes
and an Afterword by Gregory Stephens

Ratings and reviews

A fantastic book of litteture! The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass is one of the best books I've every read, this book dives into depths and the morals of slavery from an American slave's perspective, and that slave's name is Fredrick Douglass (the Underground Railroad Abolitionist) as he tells his story's of himself as a slave and later becomes and Abolitionist within one of the most famous person of the "Underground Railroad!" And not only Douglass but, as well Harriet Tubman, an American slave. The storyline is phenomenal and when you start to read the suspense is such a thrill of anxiousness that your heart beats trebling fast and faster, as well your blood pressure!!! Also recommend if you like historical figures and their audubograph of themselves and of you are interested in the depths of the morals of slavery and during Abolitionist Movements/periods and also the Civil War. Fantastic book you'll ever read in your life! More than a five star review, more like a ten!

Great man. Black feminism is a disgrace.

Good book

About the author

Frederick Douglass, born around 1817, was the son of an African-American woman and a white slaveholder. Brilliant and brave, Douglass once led a minor insurrection against his masters—but unlike the famous Nat Turner, Douglass escaped his venture alive. While still a young man he fled, hungry and hunted, to the North, where he was befriended by abolitionists. His dramatic autobiography was published in 1845, creating a sensation and spurring Douglass’s career as a militant, uncompromising leader of African-Americans. He recruited African-American volunteers for the Civil War and later secured and protected the rights of the freemen. Douglass later became secretary of the Santo Domingo Commission, Recorder of Deeds in the District of Columbia, and United States Minister to Haiti. He died in 1895.
 
Peter J. Gomes was the minister at Memorial Church at Harvard University from 1974 until his death in 2011. Among his many books are The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart and Strength for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living.
 
Gregory Stephens is Lecturer of Cultural Studies and Film in the Department of Literature in English, University of West Indies—Mona. He is the author of On Racial Frontiers: The New Culture of Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison, and Bob Marley. Previously he was an award-winning songwriter and journalist in Austin and Laredo, Texas, as well as a bilingual public school teacher (Spanish/English). He lives in Kingston, Jamaica.