richardwells 's review for:

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Written by Himself by Frederick Douglass

5.0

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I'm sorry to say it's taken me this long in life to get to this book. Frederick Douglas was taught his ABC's by a kindly mistress, and learned to read in a piecemeal and heroic fashion from his boyhood friends in the streets of Baltimore, and that was the beginning of his path to liberation. This book is beautifully written, psychologically astute, poetic, and passionate. It's a primer for understanding race in America, and it's a surprising indictment of the conservative Christianity of his day that transcends time and speaks to today's brand of Christian fundamentalists, and the politicians who pander to them..

I started the first of the two Angela Davis essays/lectures - a hard slog, academic. I might try them again.