Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (Bedford Series in History and Culture) [Paperback]

Frederick Douglass (Author), David W. Blight (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312257376 | ISBN-13: 978-0312257378 | Publication Date: December 25, 2002 | Edition: 2nd

This second edition of Douglass's Narrative reprints this classic document together with speeches and letters, all in a volume designed for undergraduate students. An extensive introduction places the Narrative in its historical and literary contexts with annotations on needed background.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review of the 1st edition 'This is a book that should be on the reading list of every course on American history or literature...with its excellent notes, bibliography and appendices, this supersedes other versions available in paperback.' - Adam Lively, Times Educational Supplement

About the Author

David W. Blight is Professor of History at Yale University; he taught at Amherst College for thirteen years. His scholarly work is concentrated on nineteenth-century America, with a special interest in the Civil War and Reconstruction, African-American history, and American intellectual and cultural history. He has lectured widely on Frederick Douglass and served as a consultant to documentary films on African-American history, including the PBS television film Frederick Douglass: When the Lion Wrote History. His book, Frederick Douglass' Civil War: Keeping Faith in Jubilee is an award-winning intellectual biography of Douglass and a study of the meaning of the Civil War. His work Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory was awarded the Bancroft Prize in American History, the Lincoln Prize, and the Frederick Douglass Prize, as well as four awards from the Organization of American Historians. He is the author of numerous essays on abolitionism and African American intellectual history, and his latest work is a colelction of essays entitled Beyond the Battlefield: Race, Memory, and the Civil War.

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's; 2nd edition (December 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312257376
• ISBN-13: 978-0312257378
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > History > Africa
  • #17 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > African-American & Black
  • #23 in Books > History > Asia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading, August 27, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (Bedford Series in History and Culture) (Paperback)

I read this book as part of a summer assignment entering into the 11th grade in addition to "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs. Both are great pieces of African-American historical literature and well worth the read. I couldn't read this book all in one sitting, due to the need to fight the urge to throw up. He detailed descriptions of physical, psycological, and emotional abuse are enough to sicken any one and make you disgusted with the human race.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just a African, but an American Hero!, October 9, 2005

By 

Richard J. Godbolt (Willingboro,Place of Rebirth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (Bedford Series in History and Culture) (Paperback)

Frederick Douglass is the complete ressurection of the saying, "Knowledge is Power." With the more information he aquired as a slave the more he lusted for freedom. He also provides an excellent example of what black people in this country could do for themselves, interms of their economical status. Looking further, Douglass loved to think and imagine the endless possiblities, while he was still in bondage physically. When he began to read and understand the "Hypocrasy" that this country was based on, using christianity as it main tool, and what every human should be allowed by right, this released his psychological enslavement. If blacks throughout this country could read and understand there were blacks that went through worse situatians and overcame them, and the current situation that destroy the black communities were created for them to fail, just like slavery, many would wake up and take on the mask of Douglass. The mask that says, "regardless of class, race, or creed, this world was created for everyone to enjoy including me."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for all Americans, December 18, 2010

By 

KennPetty - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself (Bedford Series in History and Culture) (Paperback)

I have been a huge admirer of Frederick Douglass for years. He was so obviously a genius of rare ability as shown by his writing and speeches. He was a huge influence on Abraham Lincoln who had never known any Blacks on a personal level but became an admirer of Douglass as he could relate to a man from poverty that used self-study and hard work (both mentally and physically) to elevate his station in life. He was even more impressed as he came to understand how much he had in common with Douglass but Douglass had to overcome being a slave and the rampant prejudice against blacks in the U.S.; even among abolitionists in the North. Reading his descriptions of his life, his thoughts and feelings and thinking upon his experiences draws the reader closer to understanding the travesty and inhumanity of slavery than any other text I have read. The editor has included additional material that illuminates the text of Douglass' narrative and enhances the readers comprehension of the nuances of meaning in Douglass' prose. The reasonable price and the excellent compilation make this a "must have" book for every American household. After reading this no one should be able to believe the myths of the "happy plantation" and the "benevolence of white masters" in caring for negro slaves any longer.