Customer Reviews

The Life of Olaudah Equiano

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As an American who has grown up hearing and learning about slavery and the slave trade in the US, and mainly in the 19th century, I appreciated the insight Equiano's book gives into the institution from other parts of the world, and in particular how racism evolved within an institution that had been taken for granted for centuries and had not been particularly racist.

It is not the narrative of a victim. Not only does Equiano purchase his freedom halfway through the book, but also you can tell from the incidents he describes and from reading between the lines that he was a strong, even pugnacious person who didn't take any guff from people he did not respect. He was pragmatic, ambitious, and a fighter. While he accepted the social hierarchies of the time, including slavery itself until the latter part of his life, he shows no humility (except in terms of his spiritual condition). When he proposes to another person that he work for him as a servant, you get the feeling that he has just given that person an honor.

Equiano's autobiography is important for many other reasons. It is very much a book of its time, the late 18th century, when spiritual autobiographies were important both to the writers and the readers. (Make sure that when you buy an edition of this book you do not buy an edition that has been abridged, as the account of Equiano's religious/spiritual development is what has been cut, making hamburger of what remains). He has wonderful, sometimes acid, comments, to make on the churches he observes at the time. For example, here's his comment on a church service run by the Rev. George Whitfield, at which people are crowding out into the yard and standing on ladders to see into the church: "When I got into the church I saw this pious man exhorting the people with the greatest fervor and earnestness, and sweating as much as ever I did while in slavery....I thought it strange I had never seen divines exert themselves in this manner before; and was no longer at a loss to account for the thin congregations they preached to."

Equiano's autobiography is also a tale of his adventures: he served on board battle and merchant ships much of the time and saw action during the French and Indian war. He was also part of Phipps' search for a passge to India through the north pole, where their ship was frozen in ice just as Shackleford's was two centuries later.

And finally, Equiano's life and story become entwined with the British abolition movement. His book was intended to serve the movement, raising revulsion by demonstrating the cruel and unethical practices that rose from slavery and appealing to logic and the reader's sense of shame. He is one of the earliest writers to point out a psychological blindess in slave holders, the denial and the double vision they had to develop in order to justify themselves. The very existence of the book, written by a literate, very bright, and comfortably wealthy former slave put the lie to the racist arguments that Africans were best suited to slavery. And in one part of the book that is reminiscent of Mary Wollestonecraft, he speaks passionately that the ignorance and helplessness that was so striking in so many slaves had nothing to do with nature, and everything to do with social conditioning.

I was doing a search for travel guides to the Dominican Republic, on the hunch that I might like to visit there next winter, and amazon came up with the "Life of Olaudah Equiano" as a travel recommendation. if you've read Equiano's autobiography, you'll realize just how knee-slapping funny that is. If you haven't, you should know that Equiano was a remarkable, brilliant African, kidnapped and enslaved, befriended but sold, escaped, recaptured, trusted, mistreated, and eventually a major role-player in the abolition crusade in England in the 18th Century. He figures prominently in the great historical account of English abolitionism -- "Bury the Chains" by Adam Hochschild -- along with Wilberforce and Clarkson and others whose epic courage and humanity should be celebrated forever.

Equiano's own life ought to be made into a movie; few people in history have ever been as resourceful, and few have needed to be. It was a matter of amazement to Englishmen (and Americans doubly so) that an African-born slave could write so fluently and so perspicaciously. In fact, once you get used to the 18th C syntax, his life story is on a par with the best nautical adventure writers. And Equiano was ten times the MAN that any scion of plantation Dixie was!

"The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano" has always been spoken of in literature courses but to finally read his book gave me good insight into who this man really was. To understand the language used in the 18th century and how that language helped to push the abolitionists into action is key within the study of slavery during this time. If you have never read a narrative by an African who was stolen into slavery and eventually became a self made man, this is the book for you.

It is hard to rate a book like this...

You must read it if you're even considering it and once you've read it, you should pass it on to someone else. Life dishes us a lot. Life dishes out some people more hardship than others and sometimes we get the opportunity to give ourselves and those we love a chance at a better life. Not only does this book tell a wonderful story of a man who found strength most of us never realize we possess, but in doing so - has proven the power of language, written and spoken. The world can be full of possobilities in even the most impossible situations - to say nothing of the horror we inflict upon each other...but that's another story.

This is a book that should be read by everyone. The author, who was born in the 18th century, tells of his life as both a free and an enslaved African. The publisher should have added some history as an appendix, but information about Equiano can be found on the Internet. Equiano's narrative brings to life the horrendous atrocities inflicted on slaves.

I enjoy the classics. This is a great read and a must for any classical reader. I sometimes wonder if the author took liberty in telling his life story because some of his life experiences seem so unbelievable. My young sons liked listening to my recount of the book.

This is one of my favorite books! This is a wonderful testimony to the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. Equiano makes the statement that while the events that happened to him were tragic, they are the events that led him to a saving relationship with Christ. This book is so well written and filled with adventure. It is hard to put down once you start reading. A wonderful story that mirrors the fact that we are all born in slavery to sin and deserve righteous judgment but there is salvation reserved for those that God redeems and call out to Him for mercy.

I'm a historian, who got this book late, but really enjoyed it. I would suggest this book to get a little insight to the culture during the slave trade.

This book is not for those with a passing interest in history. This is a book about a man who was trying to change his time. He did so by sharing his life. It is really good. But it is not that easy to understand.

In the later parts of 1700s some opposition of slavery was developed due to horrendous accounts given by merchants and slaves, like Equiano. That was the first time in history when opposition of slavery grew. And this is one of them.

This book gives account of the life of a slave. Before he gets kidnapped, he gives some accounts of slavery back in Africa, which is a lot different than the ones in Americas or England.

Many people who have read this book said it's either BORING or VERY INTERESTING. I think this book is interesting, though, but I can't consider it as a favorite book of mine. It has hard to read; lots of big words. There's also a lot of switch-back-and-forths between where events take place and I couldn't really keep it up. Maybe because I was reading too fast or maybe because I wasn't following too well.

This book is like a life of a slave. BUT NOT the kind of slave that you would expect. It has no similarities compared to Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. It's totally a different account. So if you expect to read a horrific story about slavery in Americas, don't choose this one. This book will give you a pretty good idea of how Africans were treated. (A lot of times this story takes place on a ship.)