Reviews - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Illustrated

1.94k reviews for:

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Illustrated

I'm not going to add a star rating to this, as it feels disingenuous to simply rate how well a narrative of an enslaved man is written. However, I would say that Douglass' narrative is one of the most well written pieces of non-fiction work that I have ever read. I suggest that any and everyone read this book if you haven't, especially if you live in the United States.

whizbangdebris's review against another edition

5.0

You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.

This should be required reading in every school in America and I'm sorry it took me this long to find it. This incredible and brave book feels relevant even today. It's immensely hard to read during descriptions of violence and gaslighting towards black slaves but it's neccessary reading.

Brilliant and unfortunately, timeless

kelseyp1007's review against another edition

4.0

This isn’t usually the type of book I would read. I read it for class a few months ago and wanted to reread it. This book is very interesting and informative. I find it shocking that North America changed so much.

joyfulme's review against another edition

5.0

A well-written, earnest, thoughtful autobiography by the abolitionist Fredrick Douglass. With every chapter he affirms the dehumanizing effect that slavery has on slave and slaveholder alike. Like Booker T. Washington, he celebrates the dignity conveyed to a person through hard work. But having been born almost 50 years prior to Washington, and to crueler masters, the two authors differ in spirit, in experience, and in the way that they devoted their lives to building up Americans of African descent. Douglass concentrated his literary studies on rhetoric and the effect is that his Narrative reads as a textbook model for essay writing.

It deserves a place in the canon of Western classics for its representation of the slave experience from a slave’s point of view, grounded in a heart that recognizes that which is True, noble, right, pure, admirable, and excellent.

yeoroll's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

lavenderdolmeh's review against another edition

5.0

We have men sold to build churches, women sold to support the gospel, and babes sold to purchase Bibles for the poor heathen! all for the glory of God and the good of souls! The slave auctioneer's bell and the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master. -APPENDIX