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A review by glyptodonsneeze
Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, a Monumental American Man by Tonya Bolden
5.0
This is a fantastic book.
There's a scene in Underground where Cato, the evil guy, walks up to Frederick Douglass himself (technically an actor playing Frederick Douglass in 2016) and says, "Your first autobiography was remarkable but I haven't had a chance to crack the second one." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maoi2sHILtE This is a profound slap in the face to one of the greatest Americans we've had so far; something akin to walking up to Bill Clinton and saying, "I appreciate your work towards a more equitable America but that Monica Lewinsky thing was a huge mistake." You think that, but you don't do that. Never! You don't say that to person you're thinking the thing about because they're venerable, but it's true, and Tonya Bolden explains why Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is one of the most important books in American history but you haven't quite gotten around to My Bondage and My Freedom.
And I never thought I could be so cheesed off at William Lloyd Garrison.
This is a young adult non-fiction book, and since I'm not that familiar with Douglass' later life, I'm inclined to assume that it had some complexity that Bolden only brushed up against because this book is intended for eighth graders, but whatever she missed by not writing a doorstop biography is replaced by a wonderful feel for Douglass himself and his struggles and reality that is not bogged down in minutia or hagiography. (Apparently Lincoln didn't even remember meeting Douglass later on, although he did.) Read this, and then maybe get to all three of Douglass' biographies, because you haven't yet.
There's a scene in Underground where Cato, the evil guy, walks up to Frederick Douglass himself (technically an actor playing Frederick Douglass in 2016) and says, "Your first autobiography was remarkable but I haven't had a chance to crack the second one." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maoi2sHILtE This is a profound slap in the face to one of the greatest Americans we've had so far; something akin to walking up to Bill Clinton and saying, "I appreciate your work towards a more equitable America but that Monica Lewinsky thing was a huge mistake." You think that, but you don't do that. Never! You don't say that to person you're thinking the thing about because they're venerable, but it's true, and Tonya Bolden explains why Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is one of the most important books in American history but you haven't quite gotten around to My Bondage and My Freedom.
And I never thought I could be so cheesed off at William Lloyd Garrison.
This is a young adult non-fiction book, and since I'm not that familiar with Douglass' later life, I'm inclined to assume that it had some complexity that Bolden only brushed up against because this book is intended for eighth graders, but whatever she missed by not writing a doorstop biography is replaced by a wonderful feel for Douglass himself and his struggles and reality that is not bogged down in minutia or hagiography. (Apparently Lincoln didn't even remember meeting Douglass later on, although he did.) Read this, and then maybe get to all three of Douglass' biographies, because you haven't yet.