Sterling Biographies

Frederick Douglass

By: Frances E. Ruffin

Narrated by: Cornelius Jones Jr.

Length: 3 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

From slave to freedom fighter: that was the long and hard journey taken by Frederick Douglass. Douglass was America's first great civil-rights leader, and he threw off the physical, mental, and legal chains of slavery to become one of America's greatest champions for human rights. It was said that his life was proof that once black people could read and write about their injustices, they would have the power to end slavery.

Frances E. Ruffin explores this inspiring figure in all his complexity, and captures the hardships, prejudice, and violence Douglass endured as he fought for justice.

©2008 Sterling (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

For Real History

What an amazing way to teach my children how the hate began and despite it... success IS still an option!

As advertised...

This is targeted at a young audience... and like everything targeted at young people, it is very politically correct, and wooden, and one-sided. God forbid young minds be exposed to "just the story".

With that said... it's worth six dollars and the time spent to gain a little history and perspective if you're on a budget. If you're expecting a read with deep insight and gritty details, this isn't the book for you... this is just the basics, dumbed down and moralized down for grade-schoolers.

The reading was very clear and inviting!

Excellent, I look forward to hearing more from this Narrator. This book is very informative, a must read to understand American History!

Great Historic Listen

Although there really was not a performance with the narrator like many of the other audio-books, the listen was very informative and entertaining. I liked it more than I thought I would.

A Very Interesting Overview of Douglass's Life

If you could sum up Sterling Biographies in three words, what would they be?

Informative, captivating, interesting

What did you like best about this story?

This story gave a very captivating look into Fredrick Douglass's life from his birth to his death and was presented in an orderly, logic fashion. I learned a lot more than I learned in school about this important figure in American history listening to this audio-book. The story-telling was what kept me interested and hungry for more after I finished it.

What about Cornelius Jones’s performance did you like?

He seemed to have a passion for telling this great man's story and did a good job with pacing the events as they unfolded.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Sometimes his voice seemed different, like it had been recorded after the original recording and then spliced back in.

Any additional comments?

I would have liked for there to have been more music and/or sound effects in certain places.

Great Prsentation

Where does Sterling Biographies rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 5.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mr. Douglas. He was more courageous than I imagined.

What does Cornelius Jones bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His expressions and voice inflections brings the story alive.

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

Yes, I wanted to, however, my schedule would not allow it.

Good for Students, Good for Us

Would you consider the audio edition of Sterling Biographies to be better than the print version?

Haven't read any of them. Only heard this one as I listened to it last week.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sterling Biographies?

How much I didn't know about Frederick Douglass and learned from this audio!

Did Cornelius Jones do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, he did.

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

Given that it's for students, it was compact and easy to understand all in just a few days of listening.

Any additional comments?

Cornelius could pick up the pace for us grownups. Even high school history students would appreciate a more adult version. Are the Sterling biographies geared to elementary school students to help them appreciate history? If so, bravo!

Great book

Read this book if you want to know about black history and famous people who are not mentioned that much in other books and stories.

This is a children's book and not an adult's.

This book is written for a child or a youth and it definately reads that way. The story was choppy and did not flow and it was "dumbed down". I never finished it, and I love the biography of Frederick Douglas. It was just written for the education level of about a 5th grader.

Was not what i expected

Would you try another book from Frances E. Ruffin and/or Cornelius Jones?

I don't know

Has Sterling Biographies turned you off from other books in this genre?

no

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Cornelius Jones?

idk

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

for me no. i never finished it.

Any additional comments?

i did not appreciate the narration style. i was expecting something more academic