Book 193: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

There are only so many short books that are as memorable as this one. The life of Frederick Douglass narrated by himself is a crushing, fascinating book that will remain with me for a long time to come. Elie Wiesel's Night and Victor Frankl's A Man's Search for Meaning come to mind.

I picked up this book from the Gutenberg Project, which allows you to download free e-books (here's the link for this one). I never knew the details of Douglass's early life. From birth, his entire life was impacted by slavery. I was disheartened to learn of his early separation from his mother which was orchestrated for one reason: to destroy the mother-child bond before it could begin.

The cruelty described within this short little book will surprise you. Though most of us are familiar with some of the horrors of slavery, Douglass describes some I've never heard before. I now understand the hardness and resolve in his eyes that is captured in not one but all of the photos I've ever seen of him.

I was quite surprised by the conclusion of this book, in which Douglass describes the profound cruelty of the "pious slave owner" who professes faith in Christ and then uses his religion to cover the most heinous crimes.

I think this book should be required reading for every American.