Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

An American Slave

By: Frederick Douglass

Narrated by: Jonathan Reese

Length: 4 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Douglass spent his first 20 years in slavery, before escaping to the North. As a slave, he experienced both the kindness of his master's wife, who taught him to read, as well as the cruelty of sadistic overseers. This powerful story helped recruit many to the abolitionist cause.

(P)2005 Tantor Media Inc.

Helpful Teaching Tool

Excellent narration of a timeless character. Great help for my African American Literature class. Will certainly listen to it again.

amazing story

it's amazing that Frederick Douglass tells us his life story about being in bondage, escaping slavery to go north. the narrator was not appropriate, because I think he was causasian, and it would have been a more compelling listen if the narrator were black, and a little more animated in telling this important story.

A must read/listen

The narrator could have read slightly faster. Other than that, the story was heart-wrenching but very interesting.

A must add to your library.

I was encouraged to read his book and I'm glad I did many more should.

Best Story about Slavery Ever Written

Any additional comments?

I read this well over a year ago, before I read Uncle Tom's Cabin and a few other well known books on the subject, and I have to say this is the best of the log by far. Douglass can really write, and can really show the evils of slavery, he makes the rest seem like cheap imitations.

Inspiring!

I very much enjoyed this most interesting story. In his own eloquent words, this book describes the life of Frederick Douglass. It paints a picture of a most interesting and remarkable man driven to be a free man. One can see how events in his life helped to sculpt his awakening of the injustice of slavery. He demonstrates inner strength of character that I admire. The performance by Jonathan Reese was excellent. It was measured and not rushed - allowing for reflection.

Great Book

Every American student should be required to read this book. It is an amazing story of the life of Frederick Douglas, a true hero of his time.

Jonathan Reese narrates Douglass Autobiography

Would you consider the audio edition of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to be better than the print version?

No; I could never denigrate Douglass's original writing, although the audio is great.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?

Douglass writes persuasively of the horrors of slavery; one of the memorable examples is the beating of Frederick's Aunt Hester.

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Reese – was your favorite?

Douglass, as expressed in first person

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Douglass' book is analagous to Martin Luther King's speeches in influencing American equality of races.

Any additional comments?

The narration was so effective that as I was using the audible.com version to help my Engish III students, someone in the hallway thought that I was simply showing movies to my students on those days, and I had to explain to my supervisor that we were using audible.com to help my students understand Douglass's writing. Thanks for a great job!

Narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Great story!

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Reese’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I would have liked to have heard this in Samuel L. Jackson's voice or Morgan Freeman's voice. The narrator's voice sounded very robotic to me.

feeling on edge and chilled

the details had me feeling like someone was scratching over a chalkboard. the reading could've been more animated to fit the situations intensity.