Frederick Douglass

by William S. McFeely, Frederick Douglass (Subject)

“A masterpiece….[W]ill rightfully assume its place as the standard biography of a truly great figure in the nation’s past.” ― New York Newsday Former slave, orator, journalist, autobiographer; revolutionary on behalf of a just America, Frederick Douglass was a towering figure, at once consummately charismatic and flawed. His Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) galvanized the antislavery movement and is one of the truly seminal works of African-American literature. In this masterful and compelling biography, William S. McFeely captures the many sides of Douglass―his boyhood on the Chesapeake; his self-education; his rebellion and rising expectations; his marriage, affairs, and intense friendships; his bitter defeat and transcendent courage―and recreates the high drama of a turbulent era.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, African American, American History, Historical, Civil War

504 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

William McFeely's Frederick Douglass is a sturdy, generally reliable biography of the ex-slave, abolitionist and Civil Rights activist of 19th Century America. McFeely shows Douglass, from his earliest days as the enslaved Frederick Bailey, as a man of great ambition for self-improvement and self-advancement. Even in bondage, Douglass valued learning and erudition, which served him brilliantly upon his escape; he became a ferociously effective orator and activist calling for slavery's end. McFeely is quite effective and erudite showing Douglass's evolution, from Garrisonian pacifism to an abolition-at-any-cost attitude that alienated some of his early allies; his fraught relationship with Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party, spurring them to harsher action; his efforts to push for Reconstruction and continued activism. Douglass's ambition provided him with the sheer will to overcome his circumstances and achieve much, but also led him, later in life, to become a more establishment figure whose views (a Booker T. Washington-esque espousal of Black self-improvement, his rebuke of women's suffragists he'd earlier allied with) became more conventional and less challenging. As Douglass aged into a grand statesman of Black America, he was often behind the curve but still capable of valuable service, as when he allied with Ida B. Wells' anti-lynching campaign. The book is weakest when the author indulges in psychological speculation (a failing carried over from his biography of Ulysses Grant); in particular, an early section speculates on whether Douglass had unrequited feelings for a white friend as a boy which receives bizarre and undue emphasis. Whatever one makes of these passages, it's a fine read on the whole, though it's since been supplanted by David W. Blight's work.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frederick Douglass has been a hero of mine based on one paragraph of one speech. That is really all I knew about him other than that he was an escaped slave in the 19 century who rose to prominence. Here is that paragraph that made him my hero:

"This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. In the light of these ideas, Negroes will be hunted at the North and held and flogged at the South so long as they submit to those devilish outrages and make no resistance, either moral or physical. Men may not get all they pay for in this world, but they must certainly pay for all they get. If we ever get free from the oppressions and wrongs heaped upon us, we must pay for their removal. We must do this by labor, by suffering, by sacrifice, and if needs be, by our lives and the lives of others."
- See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/1857-frederi...

Now that I have read this book or I should say I have listen to it in the Audible format I see that he is a much more nuanced figure. Now he seems a little bit more like Booker T. Washington. A bit of an Oreo.

I am not quite sure why this book has not had more readership on Goodreads. It is quite accessible and not written in a complicated or dense manner. While I do not have much experience with the YA category, I would say it seems very accessible to a young crowd.

I am not sure how much independent research the author did to compile this book. He refers to the several auto biographical books that Douglass wrote over his lifetime. He does allude to many instances where it seemed the Douglass did not live up to his radical beginnings. Most of the pictures I have seen of Frederick Douglass made me think he was dark skinned. However he was actually fairly light skinned and likely a mulatto. His first wife and all his children were dark skinned and the author suggests this was a problem for him. His first wife was also illiterate for her entire life, another problem for her most literate husband. His second wife was white.

Frederick Douglass spent a lifetime giving lectures all around the country. He supported the republican political party starting with Lincoln even after that party became less supportive of rights for colored people. There are several chapters at the end of the book about his relationship with Haiti.

I got the impression that Douglass made a reputation for himself early on and then road that reputation for all it was worth. He was erratic and sticking to the principals the first made him famous. The speech that I quoted at the beginning was given in 1857. He lived another 40 years and apparently mellowed. But the book ends with another example of a fiery speech.

Frederick Douglass disappointed me but I must admit that is because I had such high expectations for him. He did live his life in the 1800s so maybe those expectations were too high. Frederick Douglass was born a slave in the south and escaped as a teenager to the north. In spite of some opportunities after he had become famous to return to the south he remained in Rochester New York. He did spend the last year's of his life when he wasn't traveling or in Haiti living in Washington DC.

I will read some of Frederick Douglass's auto biographical writing. Some of it is available quite inexpensively in e-books.

[Alex Van Houdt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounding up from 4.5 stars, but this is still easily one of the best biographies that I've read. McFeely doesn't shrink from Douglass' flaws, but doesn't revel in or sensationalize them either. He also gives a good measure of the impact Douglass had on history without overstating it. All the while, Douglass' personality and makeup shine throughout, and the well-researched, in-depth history of the era to give context seals the impact that this book had on me. The parallels between the 19th-century, Eastern and Southern United States and today are also highlighted expertly.

All I've ever wanted out of a good biography is an even-keeled, informed, enlightening look into someone's life and time, while the author stays out of the way of another's story as much as possible - and McFeely does so masterfully. A side effect of this approach is that sometimes a story can drag at times, or feel a bit dry. While this book doesn't entirely avoid that (the main reason why it took me so long to finish), it still remains surprisingly accessible.

I've never been particularly drawn to Ulysses S. Grant, but I find myself wanting to give McFeely's biography on him a try after reading this.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most Americans, I've known of Frederick Douglass since childhood. He was the escaped slave who wrote the famous autobiography and met with President Lincoln. Beyond that, I saw the movie Glory with the brief appearance of the handsome black man besides the president on the reviewing stand. Beyond that--not much else.

McFeely's biography presents the whole person, from childhood to death, drawing a canvas darker, wider and more complex than the iconic picture. Doing so, he also tells the reader a lot about the latter days of slavery in the USA and about the abolitionist and freedman movements--both as diverse and divisive then as the anti-war movement has been in our own lifetimes. I hadn't known about slaves living, as Douglass did, independently, serving their masters only by sending them a portion of their paychecks. I hadn't know that there was such political activity among blacks so early. I hadn't known a damn thing about the earliest black civil servants. Indeed, I learned so much from this book that it feels that I read it a week, not six years, ago.

[Joseph Viola · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good intro to the life of Frederick Douglass. While I learned a lot about the man, I finished the book wanting to know more about him and his times. I plan to read David Blight's Pulitzer winner and hope it will provide the additional texture that I think a subject such as Douglass deserves.

[Eric Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even the boring writer of this book who seemed to employe his full powers of obfuscation could not kill the spirit of such a courageous, I will do what ever the F*ck I wanna do freedom fighter.

This lesson seems losts to most as it was to me untill I read this book- even though I know I did a book report on him in the third grade. Yet another powerful African American and human rights leader that this country has made milk toasts ala Martin Luther King.

Toward the end, this book was gut wrenchingly sad detailing how after Frederick Douglass fought for his freedom and then that of his people's from slavery, he became a helpless witness to his people's slide back into just another form of bondage, suffering and cruelty. Yea a real eye opener for sure.

[Sarah E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a good book, it’s educational. He told us what he went through and about his parents and how it was like escaping its just something you should read

[Nathan Eberline · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, I wanted to know more about Frederick Douglass. After reading Grant by Jean Edward Smith, I learned about Douglass’s time representing the United States in Haiti, which led me to McFeely’s biography from 1991. The first portion of the book seemed repetitive to Douglass’s own recounting of his youth, but the rest of the book gave great insight to a complex and interesting man.

McFeely’s book does not have the same pace and enjoyment that some of my favorite biographers can muster, but his writing is still engaging and informative. I have read that Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David Blight is superb, so it may be that there are better options available. But McFeely’s book is still a sound option to learn more about what Frederick Douglass did for the United States. Here are some of notes from the book.

Douglass’s family told Frederick that his owner was his father. This parentage could have been Overseer Anthony Aaron, or Thomas Auld, who later became his master. How heartbreaking it must be to have one’s life born of rape, pillage, and the unknown.

Douglass was moved by John Quincy Adams who called for action in Congress to abolish slavery. Prior abolition activity focused on moral change and the inherent evil of slavery. Douglass addressed the evil of slavery, as well, but he also focused on political action and encouraging people to use government to beget change.
Douglass began his abolition activities with the Garrison Abolitionists led by William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison Abolitionists eschewed all political activities, which Douglass came to realize was ineffective. He took a two-tiered approach of both moral arguments and the need for political activity.

Studying the abolitionist movement looks quite different from presidential history. With the latter, individuals introduce policy proposals, and the laws pass or fail. Movements like abolitionism are in the background of historical books that focus on the laws and the individuals who create them. But in studying Douglass’s history, there is a clear policy proposal—end slavery—yet it is harder to gauge which events, or words, or people make the most difference. When Douglass traveled to Europe, his fame and followers grew mightily. He exerted pressure on the Church of Scotland to in turn put pressure on southern slaveowners in the American church to end slavery. This effort had an undoubted effect, but it seems harder to gauge. The clear takeaway, however, is the power and effectiveness of Douglass’s rhetorical skills and the importance of informing and moving people to act.

After the Nebraska-Kansas Act when the federal government gave up its determination of slavery in new states. Leading up to the Civil War, Black America was despondent according to McFeely. There were few signs of improvement or movement toward broad emancipation. This assessment seems in alignment with Ulysses Grant’s conclusion that fighting and bloodshed was the only way to purge slavery and move toward unity.

While Douglass was avoiding fallout from John Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry, George Thompson—the ardent abolitionist—gave a speech in Glasgow, Scotland. Thompson lambasted the United States and its constitution because of its tolerance of slavery. Douglass responded to Thompson’s harangue with his own speech in Glasgow before the Scottish Anti-Slavery Society on March 26, 1860. He defended the constitution and noted it could become the tool that freed the slaves. Douglass critiqued both Thompson and his arguments.
Early on, he classified Thompson as one of the insulting “small men who argue for victory rather than for truth.” Douglass acknowledged that it is understandable to condemn a nation that tolerates something as damnable as slavery, but such a perspective is incomplete. Douglass offered the following analogy: “the American Government and the American Constitution are spoken of in a manner which would naturally lead the hearer to believe that one is identical with the other; when the truth is, they are distinct in character as is a ship and a compass. The one may point right and the other steer wrong.” President Trump’s harsh words on the international stage has left many countries facing a similar question: are his words reflective of the United States. In light of another election that shows a 50-50 split in state after state, there should be a warning to look back at history and attempt to avoid the war that grew out of the 50-50 split in the 1800s.

As Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans rose to power, Douglass saw the ideas of his seed planting start to sprout. With the Republican victory, anti-slavery was the policy position of the majority party.

McFeely introduced me to an interesting executive order by President Lincoln that I had never heard before. The Confederacy declared that black Union soldiers would not be treated as soldiers if captured. Instead, they would be treated as slave insurrectionists, which carried a punishment of execution by hanging. Lincoln responded that “for every soldier killed in violation of the laws of war, a rebel soldier shall be executed.” There is a harshness to this order that seems unexpected from the persona we often read about in Abraham Lincoln.

During a meeting with Secretary of War Stanton on recruitment, Douglass stated, “the negro...[is neither] an angel or a devil; he is simply a man and should be dealt purely with as such. Some were brave, some cowardly, some ambitious and aspiring, some not.”

Abolitionist, Ottilie Davida Assing, said that “reconstruction” was a politician’s term; the Civil War’s conclusion ushered in a revolution.

In 1865, community leaders in Baltimore formed the Frederick Douglass Institute in an effort to promote African American causes. White leaders had to form the committee because blacks were not permitted to incorporate; this changed in 1872. Interestingly, the institute liquidated its holdings in 1889 because the board determined it had accomplished its purpose. It had to be particularly sweet for Douglass returning to Baltimore, the place from which he escaped slavery, and have an organization there honor his work.

Once emancipation occurred, Douglass turned his eyes to voting rights for the newly freed slaves. He saw this right as the critical safeguard to protect against treatment as second-class citizens.

It would have been worthwhile if McFeely had spent more time on Lincoln’s death and Johnson’s overt racism. The backdrop of radical Republicans striving for the rights of freed slave while Johnson undermined everything would have been an intriguing foundation to understand what Douglass faced and how the situation changed under Grant.

The split between the previously unified movement by African Americans and women to jointly secure the right to vote was quite sad. They were so close to achieving it together. One wonders if the outcome would have been different under Lincoln. In Lincoln’s absence, Andrew Johnson was disastrous in his cruelty.

McFeely’s description of Grant appointing Douglass to serve as secretary on the commission to explore the annexation of Santo Domingo (the Dominican Republic) gave a more complete picture of the action compared to Jean Edward Smith in his biography of Grant.

Douglass had a stint as bank president for The Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company. He took over after the bank had fallen into near insolvency, and his role was to instill confidence in the bank by the black community. Unfortunately, the Board of Trustees neglected to hire a single individual with financial experience. The bank soon failed due to poor loans without adequate oversight. University of Chicago Dr. Constantine Yannelis recently researched the effect of the bank, which was positive during its existence, but “It seems likely that the collapse of the Freedman’s Bank and the loss of savings has contributed to an intergenerational mistrust of banks.” When the bank failed, it left 60,000 depositors with nearly $3 million in losses.

Douglass participated in the Colored Conventions Movement, which was a series of gatherings that took place both before and after the Civil War. He gave an 1883 speech in Louisville entitled, “Address to the People of the United States.” Douglass answered the question on why such a convention was necessary:
“It is our lot to live among a people whose laws, traditions and prejudices have been against us for centuries, and from these they are not yet free. To assume that they are free from these evils simply because they have changed their laws is to assume what is utterly unreasonable and contrary to facts...Though the colored man is no longer subject to be bought and sold, he is still surrounded by an adverse sentiment which fetters all his movements...He is rejected by trade unions, of every trade, and refused work while he lives, and burial when he dies, and yet he is asked to forget his color, and forget that which everybody else remembers.”

In 1883, the Supreme Court decided a group of five cases entitled, The Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3. The nine Republican justices shocked the black community by deciding that the 13th and 14th Amendments did not bar private individuals from racial discrimination. This decision neutered The Civil Rights Act of 1875, which Republicans passed to provide equal access to the country for the freed slaves. These cases were the forerunner to Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and the “separate but equal” status that relegated the freed slaves to the unequal status of second-class citizens. In both cases, Justice John Marshall Harlan dissented and chastised the court for gutting the laws.

When Douglass surprised everyone by his unannounced marriage to Helen Pitts Douglass, he received strong criticism from both blacks and whites. Pitts was white, and the mixed-race marriage was offensive to even staunch abolitionists. Even Helen’s abolitionist father disowned her, and Frederick’s children disapproved of the marriage. The marriage was another way that Douglass advanced racial rights in America.

President William Henry Harrison appointed Douglass as Minister to Haiti, which was appealing to Douglass. He and many others had high hopes for an independent, black nation—the only one in the Western Hemisphere and one of three in the world.

Many criticized Douglass for his tenure as minister to Haiti. The critiques came from expansionists and traders in New York who wanted a new secure market. On one hand, Douglass had an undoubted favor toward President Florvil Hyppolite and the Haitian government. He wanted to see Haiti succeed in its self-governing independence. On the other hand, this hope for Haiti made him overlook President Hyppolite’s tyrannical side. Irrespective of Douglass’s desires for Haiti, he worked hard to secure a military base for the United States, and the criticisms seem unwarranted looking back at Douglass’s record.

In the mocking, “Negro Day,” at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Frederick Douglass gave a speech at which a number of white speakers jeered his words as Douglass attempted to read. Douglass threw down his papers, as he drowned out the hecklers: “Men talk of the Negro problem. There is no Negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have honesty enough, loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough to live up to their own Constitution.” To offer these stirring, powerful words off the cuff must have been quite a sight to see.

McFeely did an excellent job of transitioning the civil-rights fight from Frederick Douglass to Ida B. Wells. His juxtaposition of the two as they struck up a friendship in the 18090s gave a final dose of vigor to both to the end of Douglass’s life and to the end of McFeely’s book.

McFeely observed that some people accused Douglass of running away from his blackness. Yet Douglass continued fighting prejudice until his very last days. With his fiery speeches, Douglass announced “not only that he was black but also instructed to all who looked at him that they were not to see that fact pejoratively.”

McFeely’s book continued to improve with each passing chapter. I suspect that is partially due to additional information to add depth and texture to the book. Whatever the reason, it proved worthwhile to wade through the early years of Douglass’s life to reach the action of his abolitionism. I recommend Frederick Douglass, and the events of 2020 are a particularly fitting time to learn more about his life.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frederick Douglass was undoubtedly one of the giants of the 19th century. I was familiar with the general outline of his life up until the abolition of slavery - the runaway slave who became a powerful anti-slavery orator and strong advocate of women's rights - but I've long wanted to learn more about him.

McFeely's sympathetic biography put meat on the bones of what I knew about Douglass's life, especially about his later years and his family. Of the latter, though, there is much that remains unknown - unknowable perhaps - about the dynamics of his marriage to Anna.

I found the chapters on Douglass's later life especially informative, as this was a period with which I was largely unfamiliar. McFeely discusses Douglass's role as minister to Haiti during President Benjamin Harrison's administration, his friendship with Ida B. Wells, and the great abolitionist's gradual disillusionment with post-Civil War white America as it refused to embrace Black Americans as full citizens.

There are times when the biographer appears too eager to veer into sexuality-based conjecture, as when he describes a sadistic whipping the young Douglass received from Edward Covey as suggesting 'a perversion of homosexual attraction into vicious cruelty'. Hmmm ... I interpret this act of violence as an expression of the absolute power Covey held over the enslaved Douglass. In the absence of firm evidence, McFeely also indulges in speculation about the nature of Douglass's relationships with two of the many abolitionist white women he befriended.

I also found it curious that McFeely devoted so little attention to the rift between Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison.

Those reservations aside, this is a fine biography of one the most inspiring figures in American history.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible life. Frederick Douglass accomplished so much, interacted with so many and never stopped working until his death. This was a very good bio of Frederick that went into his life as a slave, his escape, his early years in Boston, his trips to England, Scotland and Ireland and then back to America in time for John Brown's Raid (he knew Brown and an arrest warrant was issued after the raid). Douglas became the Marshall of Washington, DC, the head of the Freedman's Bureau and then the ambassador to Haiti. All the while writing books, giving hundreds of speeches a year, publishing newspapers and raising children (2 of which were in the 54th.

He worked hard first to end slavery, then worked hard to raise troops for the North. After the war, he worked extremely hard for the vote, the strengthening of the 14th amendment and worked to squash the goal of sending Blacks to either Haiti or Liberia. Why? The Blacks were Americans, not Haitians or Liberians.

Amazing man.

[Susan Lampe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Born into slavery along the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay in l8l8, in a cabin in the woods, Frederick Douglas first wore the name Frederick Bailey. He began life with his grandmother Betsy who lived with a freeman named Isaac. His life seemed destined in some ways for greatness. He spent early years at the Wye plantation and later lived several times with the Auld family where he became more of a brother and friend of their white sons. At the Auld family, Sophia read Bible stories to him. His sisters were strangers, except for one, Eliza. His mother died when he was seven. At age twenty, he escaped slavery, married his sweetheart, Anna Murray. He became self-educated,and made his way to Rochester, New York, where he became an orator and journalist. During his lifetime, he published several newspapers. He devoted his life to abolition of slavery in this country. He traveled many times to Europe and spoke there of his experiences with slavery. He met and worked with several presidents, including Lincoln, Grover Cleveland and Ulysses S. Grant. He walked with anger, enraged by the injustice of slavery and the indignities borne by those of his race. He became one of the towering figures of his time and knew people like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells. He was inspired by William Lloyd Garrison. When his home in Rochester burned, he moved to Washington D. C. He also became an ambassador to Haiti, accompanied by his second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass. McFeely gives the reader not just the story of this incredible man but a sense of the history of the time of the late l800s that included the Civil War, emancipation of slaves, expansion of banking and railroads. Douglass is the author of several books, including "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (l845), a seminal work of African-American literature .

[Vincent T. Ciaramella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the life of Frederick Douglass. I read his narrative one a year for a club I have with my students. What I was hoping to get out of this book was a good understanding of his life post-slavery. However, I became so bored reading this book that I put it down. The author bogs the narrative down with too much detail about the different meetings and the different people involved. I got lost in the detail and started not to care. If I were to edit the book I would have chopped most of this detail out and streamlined it. I wanted to read about Douglass and I felt he was lost in the middle of the book.

I'll try a different biography down the line. Maybe an author like Paul Johnson will tackle him.

[Chris Fluit · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointment! I was looking for a good biography that covered the entire life of Frederick Douglass- and not simply focus on one segment as so many do. This book does that at least, covering everything from Douglass' childhood in Maryland to his days as an elder statesman reinvigorated by the fight against lynching. Unfortunately, the author runs foul whenever he switches from narrating to opinionating, revealing his own sexual preoccupation as well as sharing some oddly racist observations (like the idea that Douglass couldn't be attractive to white women because he was too light-skinned). There has to be a better biography than this!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very lengthy biography of Frederick Douglass. I had previously heard of him, but what I knew was quite minimal. I knew he was an escaped slave who was an abolitionist and a great orator, but that was the extent of it. I had no idea that he was renowned around the world, that he was a bit of a prig, and had so very many admirers. Frederick Douglas wrote at least three books, but they were all autobiographical in nature. Douglass lived into his 70s after being married twice and having several children. There were spaces in the book that were a bit dry, but I appreciated learning much more about this very important historical figure.

[Chanda Prescod-weinstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is mostly a four star book but the fact that the author is both white and male shines through, and that makes me hesitant to give it such a strong endorsement. There’s no critical attention paid to the belief that Black people = Black men and women = white women. Also the discussions about skin color are problematic.

Four instead of five because while it’s overall very accessible and informative, I felt it should have been longer and gone more deeply into some stories which are only mentioned in passing. There’s not enough about his relationship with Anna, either.

[Abdirisaq Abdisalam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frederick Douglass is good author. Frederick Douglass experience slavery and I think that the time he start to be a novel. "slavery is the big theme in Douglass's Narrative, since he wrote his book to convince people that slavery was wrong". Being author in a situation of a slavery was hard on him and I think sometimes he couldn't get time to write something. Many black American slaves support him by writing his books and convincing the white people that slavery should not be continue and stop immediately.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting biography of one of the most famous Americans. I really enjoyed his early years and his later years. I must admit that I skimmed a lot of the middle of the book because all of his lectures on anti-slavery and emancipation seemed to blend together after a while. It is a very detailed, well researched and well written book.

[Bob Barnshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was interesting, especially the insight to his family, the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, and Reconstruction. Like many biographies, was often a summary of facts and events. Includes some analysis and perspective...but not enough for me. Glad I read it.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every American should know the story of this amazing and admirable man. Listening to this excellent audiobook is one way to do so. There are many other audio and print versions of Frederick Douglass's life. If you have not yet had a chance to take in one of them, now is a great time!

[Karen]

Required reading for anyone interested in history.

[Nelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Blights book first and then Mcfeely i think they balanced each other out well..some things in blights book u didn't get u got in Mcfeely's visa versa
Great job gentlemen

[Eric Grunder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frederick Douglass is on the history's icons but also a man with clay feet.

[Jennifer Fredin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography.

[Jane Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biography. Solid, there's probably better out there now, new info, new resources.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be a thoroughly researched and documented, well-written biography of a great American, a giant of a man. In his lifetime, Frederick Douglass witnessed the end of slavery but, by the end of the nineteenth century, saw it replaced by injustice and terror. And how interesting that 120 years later, we are again facing issues of injustice and voter intimidation. Instead of poll taxes and literacy tests, we now have gerrymandered districts, voter i.d. laws, fewer polling places and shorter hours for registering and for voting, restrictions on released felons, etc. I found this book amazingly relevant for today. Plus, it gave me a much better grasp of the details leading up to the Civil Was, the War itself, Reconstruction, and the demise of that period of history.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, well written, interesting but factual, good coverage of his speeches and writings to give a picture of his character. Am even more impressed with Douglass. He had some roughness in his personality but I believe it is because of the trauma of 20 years as a slave. Became self-educated, mature, wise. Life continued to have hardships but he overcame and continued to be optimistic, positive, kind and focused on making things better for blacks even when the hurdles became more difficult.

[Joe Rodeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Emancipation Proclamation was just the start. Lynching was legal for a long time and terrorism in the South was too easily overlooked. Racial equality was a long slow climb.

It's hard to find a good history of the Reconstruction period. That story is the freshest part of this book.

Was surprised that Douglass's interracial marriage was hardly mentioned. More focus is on his traveling: boring.

[Ozymandias · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frederick Douglass was a very interesting figure, a fact which the author can never completely obscure. While occasionally he can be insightful about Douglass' obfuscations and personality he's bizarrely obsessed with his sex life and psycho-sexualisms in his writings. It's also written in such a dry style that it's easy to lose interest, yet on occasion he's prone to a rather tendentious and casual format.

[Mandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-researched, and well-written, this book provides a detailed and thorough history of the life of a complicated and important man. However, the author has the (irritating) habit of giving his own assumptions the same weight as he gives matters of historical record. I did enjoy learning more about Fredrick Douglass, though. I had only ever read his 5th of July speech (which is brilliant), but now I want to read one or more of his autobiographies, as well.

[Liz]

This was a perfectly written biography that covered every aspect of the life of Frederick Douglass. The book uses a lot of Douglass' quotes from his autobiographies to gain his perspective on the situations described. It is definitely a must read for anyone interested in learning about the civil rights movement.