3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"AM I NOT A MAN?", November 18, 2009
This review is from: Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story (Hardcover)
"AM I NOT A MAN?" the first novel by Utah's Attorney General, Mark L. Shurtleff, is generating a substantial amount of buzz, and for good reason. The author's research about Dred Scott's life, and the era in which he lived, is phenomenal, particularly as it's observed through the prism of his battle to escape slavery using the American judicial system. The storyline is educational and tender, and the topics of the Constitutional guarantees of liberty are again passion-points in America. For these reasons and many others, "AM I NOT A MAN" is an important book that should be on our shopping lists this year.
Most school children have had some introduction to the man for whom the infamous Supreme Court ruling, "The Dred Scott Decision," is named, but Mark L. Shurtleff's exhaustive research transforms a vague history lesson into a powerful example of hope, courage, and dignity under fire, reminding us why that landmark Supreme Court case was required text. The highest court's ruling, "that a black man was so inferior that he had no rights a white man was bound to respect," chills us today, highlighting the dangerous consequences that occur when men bend the Constitution to achieve an agenda.
Dred Scott was born a slave named Sam Blow, but his life was a montage of extraordinary experiences, propelled by a mind and heart that could never be enslaved. He was connected to the most important events and people of his day, and his battle to hold the legal system's "feet" to the Constitutional "fire" drew the entire nation's attention. Underlying the precedent-setting legal chronicle is the simple, tender story of a man seeking what every person seeks--love, a family, self-determination. For years, Dred fought to prevent his family from being split apart, and to spare his young daughters from the brutality and debasing abuse subjected upon most female slaves. With the help of his white benefactors, and after years of suffering, Dred won his fight and achieved his dream of freedom, but his victory was short-lived when his case was overturned on appeal. Following more years of delay and further appeals, Dred's case was heard before the United States Supreme Court, where the justices' decision was not made to uphold the law as much as it was intended to calm the gathering storm. It failed on all counts, stripping away the Scotts' freedom, denying all Negroes the standing afforded to other Americans, providing the platform upon which Abraham Lincoln rose and escalating the call to war.It is a painful saga.
Truly, "AM I NOT A MAN?" is more than a biography. It is a sweeping panorama of American history, and Dred is in the thick of it. I regret that no historical notes were included in this book. I would have loved to follow Mr. Shurtleff's leads for further study, and to draw the line where the history ends and the fictionalized portions exist.
For example, a painful exchange occurs between fellow slave owners, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, over the immoral compromise they had each accepted in order to secure passage of the documents needed to establish and maintain the United States--the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The great irony is that these "definers of American liberty," are discussing their regret over the institution of slavery as they arrive at the Blow family plantation the night Dred "Sam Blow" Scott was born a slave. Mr. Shurtleff delivers a fascinating literary moment, but I would have loved knowing where fiction and fact met during that exchange. Another curious connection exists between Dred and his boyhood friend, Nat Turner, the slave whose murderous revolt would spell agony for slaves across the map. Again, historical notes would help separate the extraordinary facts from the fascinating fiction.
Let me note, however, how extraordinarily exhaustive Mr. Shurtleff's research is. During the five years I've conducted the research for my Free Men and Dreamers series, I've covered many of the issues, places and people that fill "AM I NOT A MAN?" Mere weeks ago, I returned to Point Comfort where Dred Scott fought during the War of 1812, and then, as I read Shurtleff's account of that battle, I was impressed with the care and attention to detail the author took with this small chapter in Dred Scott's life. That level of historical integrity permeates the work.
"AM I NOT A MAN?" is not an easy read--literally or emotionally. In his effort to incorporate all the wonderful history he has uncovered, the author frequently becomes a historian instead of a novelist, shifting time periods and interjecting long passages of fascinating background info that slow the read for those who come merely seeking a historical novel. Emotionally, the story is painful and graphic in places, perhaps necessarily so, but parents should be advised before handing the book to a younger reader.
None of these issues trump the value or importance of this book. It is a painful story that chronicles the best and worst in man, compelling the reader to place themselves in the shoes of Dred Scott or his brave benefactors. We leave determined to seek and defend liberty at any cost, and that's what makes "AM I NOT A MAN?" one of the most important books I've read this year, and a novel I highly recommend.
Hardcover: 534 pages
Publisher: Valor Publishing Group; 1st edition (November 3, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1935546007
ISBN-13: 978-1935546009
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.8 inches
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
How much do your really know about Dred Scott?, January 13, 2010
This review is from: Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story (Hardcover)
I had a hard time getting into the book, but I'm glad I kept reading. Sometimes it takes me a while to get a feel for and identify with different writing styles. And be warned that this is a book about history--it's overflowing with historical details on every page. As you read this book, you will come to know Dred Scott from his very origin to his growing years until he becomes a father and a free man.
I had difficulty following the timeline of the story because it jumps around a lot, back and forth from historical happenings when Dred was born to 50 years later, etc. The version of the book available to the public has a timeline so that should make it a tad easier to follow.
Even though I had a hard time getting into the book and at times felt like I was reading a history book instead of a dramatized history book, I still want you to read it. I think you will enjoy it. I think this book is of vital importance because it reminds us of where we have come as a nation and that we cannot stand idly by and allow atrocities to exist in our midst. It isn't slavery today in The United States of America that we have a problem with--it's many more things that are terrible, yet on the rise.
As you read this book, you'll come to know the Blow family and their amazing fortitude when it came to helping their friend and former slave, Dred Scott.
Once you immerse yourself in the life of Dred Scott you'll be just like me, rooting for him with every turn of the page, crying at the injustices that men placed upon other men because of the color of their skin, and asking yourself--How did I not know this before?
I learned so much from this book and to me that allows the book to soar pretty high in my personal ranking because I have a love of learning. I'm grateful to Mark Shurtleff for compiling the magnificent amount of history that he put into this book and for making it come to life.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Gripping Struggle for Freedom, November 8, 2009
This review is from: Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story (Hardcover)
I remember just a little bit about the Dred Scott case from my American History classes. The Supreme Court at the time ruled that a negro slave was essentially less than a human being. Unfortunately, the instructor just barrelled on to the American Civil war without getting into Dred Scott's story. Mr. Shurtleff goes much deeper, putting flesh and blood on the bones of an old court case, breathing the harrowing story back to life.
The story of Sam Blow, aka Dred Scott, would contain sufficient hardship, struggle and hard-earned reward all by itself. Shurtleff goes beyond Dred Scott's story in this new historic fiction novel. He reaches back into colonial times for the story of Peter Blow, the first of a family of Virginia tobacco planters that eventually succumb to the temptation of owning slaves as a source of labor. Shurtleff interweaves the lives of those who would help decide Dred's fate such as U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney, and the members of the Blow family who grew up regarding Dred as an older brother. Even Abraham Lincoln's story comes to light as Dred's lawsuit for his freedom stretches out for years.
Shurtleff asserts that without Dred Scott's legal fight and the damning opinion written by Judge Taney, Abraham Lincoln may not have had the political ammunition to win his race for the presidency of the United States. Shurtleff's case is certainly well constructed, as one would expect from a state attorney general. Shurtleff holds up Dred's fight for freedom in the courts as not just an individual's assertion of equality, but a turning point in the struggle of a whole people to gain recognition as human beings worthy of respect and equal treatment under the law.
Gripping and thoughtful, this is a good escape for history buffs.
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