What was it like to be a slave? Listen to the words and learn about the lives of countless slaves and ex-slaves, telling about their forced journey from Africa to the United States, their work in the fields and houses of their owners, and their passion for freedom. You will never look at life the same way again.
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More About the Author
Born in 1939, Julius Lester spent his youth in the Midwest and the South and received a B.A. in English from Fisk University in 1960.Since 1968 he has published 25 books of fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and poetry. Among the awards these books have received are the Newbery Honor Medal, American Library Association Notable Book, National Jewish Book Award Finalist, The New York Times Outstanding Book, National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, Caldecott Honor Book, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and a National Book Award Finalist. His books have been translated into eight languages.He has published more than one hundred essays and reviews in such publications The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Op-Ed Page, The Boston Globe, The Village Voice, The New Republic, Katallagete, Moment, Forward, and Dissent.He has recorded two albums of original songs, hosted and produced a radio show on WBAI-FM in New York City for eight years, and hosted a live television show on WNET in New York for two years. A veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, his photographs of that movement are included in an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution and are part of the permanent photographic collection at Howard University.After teaching at the New School for Social Research for two years, Mr. Lester joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts/Amherst in 1971 where he is presently a full professor in the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies Department, and adjunct professor in the English and History departments. He also serves as lay religious leader of Beth El Synagogue in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.He has been awarded all four of the university's most prestigious faculty awards: The Distinguished Teacher's Award; the Faculty Fellowship Award for Distinguished Research and Scholarship; Distinguished Faculty Lecturer; and recipient of the Chancellor's Medal, the University's highest honor. In 1986 the Council for Advancement and Support of Education selected him as the Massachusetts State Professor of the Year.Mr. Lester's biography has appeared in Who's Who In America since 1970. He has given lectures and papers at more than 100 colleges and universities.His most recent books are John Henry, And All Our Wounds Forgiven, a novel about the civil rights movement, and Othello, a novel based on the Shakespeare play.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book to inform young readers about slavery.,
By
This review is from: To Be A Slave (Puffin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
I've been reading about slavery for many years and this book is one of the greatest for young readers. Lester is able to convey what these people were feeling and thinking at the time and after slavery quite well. This is a great read!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Every AMERICAN should read this book! Ending leaves much to be desired.,
By
This review is from: To Be A Slave (Puffin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
Like "Island Girl" said, "...It moves you, it angers you, it amazes you..."This is exactly how I feel about this book. It also greatly saddens me, makes me overwhelmingly thankful and makes me passionately teach and warm my children about the cruelty and evil that comes from forgetting or refusing to believe the intrinsic value every human being has before God and the respect each one deserves from one another. Get this book, read it. It reads so fast and is an absolute page turner. But get ready. If you really, honestly read it, you're going to experience a whole range of emotions. Anger, sadness, thankfulness and passion to share what you read with others. I honestly don't like it when people say, "Every ____ should read this book" But I have to admit, I would wholeheartedly say that about this book. Every American should read this book. I remember learning about slavery in US history during school, but not like this. We need to go back, often, and see the cruelties of one group of people toward others (Cain and Able, Jews, Canaanites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Nazis etc) so we can learn and not repeat these mistakes. This book also begs many critical questions such as: 1. How could an entire race of people think it was acceptable to treat, by and large, an entire other race of people so inhumanely? 2. How does one act when put in a situation where one is told to do something evil and if they disobey, they know they will simply be put to death and the next able bodied person will be made to do the same? 3. What one thing (many things?) is it that cuts across the horrors of US slavery, the travesty that was Nazi Europe, the evil of Sudan and on and on and on, and teaches us what is wrong and right and why these things happened? Many more questions as well. All of these questions are answered, by the way, in the 66 books of the Christian Bible. Highly recommend this one to you. Especially if you're a young Dad like me, trying to teach and train your children. ---- Update: Finished today 3/9/10 and was very disappointed by how the book ended. Left much to be desired by the reader. No final commentary from Lester. Very negative and bitter. I understand that the world is still much plagued by prejudice, oppression and racism and it will always be like that until the Prince of Peace returns. But the author could have brought things to a better summary and at least proposed some thought provoking questions for his readers to walk away with.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important Book for All Ages,
By
This review is from: To Be A Slave (Puffin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
Julius Lester has brought to life the plight and resilience of those who endured slavery by sharing their actual life stories in their own words. His work has had a deep emotional impact on me both personally and professionally, and I have mentioned this book in the human behavior courses that I teach at the college level. I am hopeful that people can learn from the real-life inhumanity written about in this book to prevent future oppression and injustice.Johanna Slivinske, MSW Author of Storytelling and Other Activities for Children in Therapy Storytelling and Other Activities for Children in Therapy Storytelling and Other Activities for Children in Therapy
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
About the latter end of August, a Dutch man of Warr of the burden of a 160 tunes arrived at Point Comfort, the commanders name Capt. Jope, his pilott for the West Indyes one Mr. Marmaduke an Englishman. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Library of Congress, Uncle Silas, Civil War, General Grant, General Lee, Klu Klux, New York, Solomon Northup, Charles Ball, Josiah Henson, Lew Cheney, New Orleans New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
About the latter end of August, a Dutch man of Warr of the burden of a 160 tunes arrived at Point Comfort, the commanders name Capt. Jope, his pilott for the West Indyes one Mr. Marmaduke an Englishman. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Library of Congress, Uncle Silas, Civil War, General Grant, General Lee, Klu Klux, New York, Solomon Northup, Charles Ball, Josiah Henson, Lew Cheney, New Orleans New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 32
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- To Be a Slave by Julius Lester in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- The Negro in Virginia by Virginia Writers' Program in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Negro in Virginia (American Negro : His History and Literature Series No. 2) by Wpa Writer's Project in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Time Cat (Puffin Modern Classic) (Puffin Modern Classics) by Lloyd Alexander in Front Matter
- A Long Way From Chicago: A Novel in Stories by Richard Peck in Front Matter
See all 32 books this book cites
- Give Me Liberty: Freeing Ourselves in the Twenty-First Century by Gerry Spence on 4 pages
- Black History and Black Identity: A Call for a New Historiography by W. D. Wright on 4 pages
- Spirited Minds: African American Books for Our Sons and Our Brothers by Archie Givens on page 107, page 108, and Back Matter
- Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales by Julius Lester on page 153, page 314, and Back Matter
- Honey for a Teen's Heart by Gladys Hunt on page 62, page 237, and page 283
See all 100 books citing this book
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