American Daughter (Borealis Books) [Paperback]

Era Bell Thompson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0873512014 | ISBN-13: 978-0873512015 | Publication Date: October 15, 1986

Black North Dakotans were indeed something of a rarity in 1914, when young Erabelle Thompson and her family moved to a farm near the small community of Driscoll. In fact, when the Thompsons traveled thrity miles to join two other black families for Christmas dinner, "there were fifteen of us, four percent of the state's entire Negro population."

In this lively autobiography, Thompson describes the experiences of her North Dakota girlhood: busting broncos with her brothers; making friends with Norwegian and German neighbors; meeting Governor Lynn J. Frazier, for whom her father worked as a personal messenger; running footraces at picnics (and knowing that people were betting on her to win); selling used furniture in Mandan; working her way through college in Grand Forks; and facing prejudice without the support of a large black community. She also discusses the impact of her North Dakota background on her later adventures in St. Paul and Chicago.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Era Bell Thompson

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press (October 15, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873512014
• ISBN-13: 978-0873512015
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,000,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRUE AMERICAN DAUGHTER!, November 26, 2002

By 

Ronald M. Mazak "Amazing Mazak" (Johnston, IA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Daughter (Borealis Books) (Paperback)

Miss Thompson has done an incredible job here. Her autobiography is so personal and touching. In reading her story, I watched her grow up in North Dakota and saw how the family struggled when they first started farming. From the early morning sunrise to the bitter cold weather, Era Bell Thompson is a master of description. She paints a beautiful picture of life, and likewise how hard the death of her mother and father were on her.
Her early 1900 work ethic makes us pale in comparison. Her friendships blossom on the pages. Her sorrows, pains, joys, love, and strength of spirit are poignant and enduring.
She is brave and hard working. She wants to share her soul with us, the readers, and has done a trememdous job!
Please purchase this book and read it. I promise it will be hard to put down and you will have been blessed by reading it.
Come share with me what I experienced by learning about a true american daughter, Era Bell Thompson.

5.0 out of 5 stars a virtually unknown classic of American letters, April 30, 2005

By 

Francatelli - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Daughter (Borealis Books) (Paperback)

Someone gave me this book, and I am lucky, for I never would have read it otherwise. But it seems that almost no one has ever read "American Daughter"(originally published in 1967), though it should be listed as of the greats of American letters. Thompson is quoted in the preface as saying, "Usually an autobiography is written near the end of a long and distinguished career, but not taking any chances, I wrote mine first, then began to live." That's tongue-in-cheek, and characteristically self-effacing. Very much so. After writing "American Daughter", Thompson went on to be associate editor of the newly established EBONY magazine, as just the start of a distinguished publishing and writing career. But it is this memoir, which should be reissued for mainstream attention--that is her great triumph--a touching, beautifully written book that enriches the lives of all who read it.