Frederick Douglass

This eloquent and dramatic autobiography of the early life of an American slave was first published in 1845, when its author was about twenty-eight years old and had just achieved his freedom.

Although it was not uncommon during the era of American slavery for articulate Blacks who escaped to have their experiences published, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass is unique among these "slave narratives" because of Douglass's eloquent power of expression.

Published seven years after his escape from slavery, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) is a powerful account of the cruelty and oppression of the Maryland plantation culture into which Frederick Douglass was born. It brought him to the forefront of the antislavery movement and drew thousands, black and white, to the cause. Written in part as a response to skeptics who refused to believe that so articulate an orator could ever have been a slave, the Narrative reveals the eloquence and fierce intelligence that made Douglass a brilliantly effective spokesman for abolition and equal rights, as he shapes an inspiring vision of self-realization in the face of unimaginable odds.

This riveting narrative tells of Frederick Douglass' life as a slave, his escape, his successful efforts to read and write, and the genesis of his role as one of America's foremost abolitionists. This new edition also features his famous speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" as well as his only known work of fiction, "The Heroic Slave." 190 pages, softcover.

(PUBLibrary of America)''Were we to possess one book from the 19th century to render vivid the evils of slavery and more vivid the triumph of the human spirit, it would be one of the three Douglass' autobiographies. His description of conversion and a life of faith are classics,''---Christian Century. 1126 pages, hardcover.

My Bondage and My Freedom represents ten years of Frederick Douglass' reflections following his legal emancipation in 1846, and captipulted him into the spotlight as the foremost spokesman for American blacks--free and slave. 364 pages, softcover.