binstonbirchill's review against another edition
5.0
"I, too, would invoke the spirit of patriotism; not in a narrow and restricted sense, but, I trust, with a broad and manly signification; not to cover up our national sins, but to inspire us with sincere repentance; not to hide our shame from the world's gaze, but utterly to abolish the cause of that shame; not to explain our gross inconsistencies as a nation, but to remove the hateful, jarring, and incongruous elements from the land; not to sustain an egregious wrong, but to unite all our energies in the grand effort to remedy that wrong."
Frederick Douglas - Lecture on Slavery - December 8, 1850
Frederick Douglas - Lecture on Slavery - December 8, 1850
sharpenanother's review against another edition
5.0
This second autobiography by Douglass is even more powerful than his first. He provides a more in-depth narrative of his life in slavery and after his escape. It's a terrible and inspiring story that left me amazed by his strength in all areas of life. His meditations and arguments were extremely interesting and compelling. His writing is eloquent and incisive.
colbybowser's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
lizzieh96's review against another edition
5.0
Dang, Douglass can WRITE. Being the topic of my senior capstone project, MBMF will always have a special place in my heart, but it’s just a really good book and I really enjoyed reading it.
beierlu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
imdillionen's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to this as the free audiobook. I've got a PhD in English literature and have done modules on American writing. Never read any Douglass--funny that. What could be more American?
jessreads82's review against another edition
5.0
I read excerpts of this book when I was in college (20 years ago) and have owned this book for 2 decades with some reason never picking it up again. Today I listened to the entire book in just one day.
Beginning with Mr Douglass’s life as a child raised by his grandmother on a slave plantation, to meeting his mother who lacked affection for him, meeting his siblings he didn’t even know, living with “kind” slave masters and cruel ones, learning to read, trying to escape, escaping, and living as a free man, this book is fascinating for what he achieved and disgusting what occurred in our country. The book was written before slavery was abolished, and Douglass makes many cases for its abolition.
As drawn in by his story as I was, towards the end I couldn’t help but disagree with him. He falls into what Ibram Kendi calls “uplift suasion” calling on his fellow slaves to be better and smarter to show the white man what he can accomplish, as if just being a human being isn’t reason enough to have freedom and live your life as you wish. I know why he called on this, and I have the advantage of history to show that any of that didn’t work, as those smarter black citizens and slaves would be called “uppity” and then beaten or lynched. However, it does give the reader the impression that he found himself to be superior to many other slaves since he had the privilege to learn to read. Shows that even during slavery,
blame was put on the shoulders of the oppressed instead of the oppressors
Beginning with Mr Douglass’s life as a child raised by his grandmother on a slave plantation, to meeting his mother who lacked affection for him, meeting his siblings he didn’t even know, living with “kind” slave masters and cruel ones, learning to read, trying to escape, escaping, and living as a free man, this book is fascinating for what he achieved and disgusting what occurred in our country. The book was written before slavery was abolished, and Douglass makes many cases for its abolition.
As drawn in by his story as I was, towards the end I couldn’t help but disagree with him. He falls into what Ibram Kendi calls “uplift suasion” calling on his fellow slaves to be better and smarter to show the white man what he can accomplish, as if just being a human being isn’t reason enough to have freedom and live your life as you wish. I know why he called on this, and I have the advantage of history to show that any of that didn’t work, as those smarter black citizens and slaves would be called “uppity” and then beaten or lynched. However, it does give the reader the impression that he found himself to be superior to many other slaves since he had the privilege to learn to read. Shows that even during slavery,
blame was put on the shoulders of the oppressed instead of the oppressors