Customer Reviews

My Master: The Inside Story of Sam Houston and His Times by His Former Slave Jeff Hamilton

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I stumbled upon this book at the estate sale of an author of historical fiction. This beats any fiction story! The book covers the life of Jeff Hamilton from his early childhood as a slave through his time as a well-respected member of the community when he was 100 years old. Reading "My Master" is like sitting with Mr. Hamilton and hearing it in his own voice. He meant the book to be a tribute to Sam Houston, but there are two heroes in the story: Sam Houston and Jeff Hamilton.

Houston literally "invested" in Hamilton when he bought him as an act of compassion, but the general went on to invest himself in the mental/spiritual/character development of the youngster. His influence fell on fertile ground, and Jeff matured into a responsible adult who relied on the lessons he learned from Houston for the rest of his life.

Both Houston and Hamilton are great American success stories, but the real beauty of this book is the description of the bond that developed between these two men, based on trust, respect and affection.

Jeff relates episodes of Texas history that that are missing from the textbooks, with vivid descriptions of details only an eye-witness could have known. He tells of poignant family moments, heated arguments in closed-door meetings before the secession of Texas, Houston's special friendship with the Indians, and much more.

Jeff Hamilton and Sam Houston met at a time when slavery permeated all of their environment and culture, and Jeff lived to see it abolished. His unique point of view on history is priceless.

I am certainly not an advocate of slavery in any form. Yet how profoundly refreshing it is to unearth the point of view of an actual slave that shows that the "politically correct" viewpoint made popular with "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is not necessarily factual. Mr.Hamilton illustrates quite wonderfully that slaves were not always abused and mistreated as is popularly believed. What an eye opener this book truly is! Everyone should read this book. I feel that today's racial tensions would be somewhat mellowed if the attitudes shown by Mr. Hamiliton were more of the norm. This ex-slave has something to teach us all!

Wow! Think how rare it is to read a book from a slave's point of view (about a famous Texan, that was known world wide, even before his death)!

Don't get me wrong, slavery is terrible, but the point of view is like from another world. It is worth mentioning, the spirit of forgiveness and even loving kindness felt by the former slave, for his master. And how lovingly the ex-slave tells of how he looked up to the great man from Texas! This is a very rare bit of reading material!