Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

By: Frederick Douglass

Narrated by: Isaac Winslow

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was published in 1845; it is a memoir and treatise on abolition written by the famous author and former slave Frederick Douglass. The book includes two introductions by well-known abolitionists: a preface by William Lloyd Garrison, and a letter by Wendell Phillips, both confirming the veracity of the account and the literacy of its author. It is generally considered to be the most famous of a number of abolition narratives written by former slaves in the same era. The narrative describes the events of Douglass’s life over 11 chapters, from his childhood to emancipation. The book was an immediate success and received critical acclaim, also in Europe.

Public Domain (P)2019 Woodkeep Audio

Powerful and Eye-Opening

I should have read Frederick Douglass years ago. Now I cannot get enough, and will go immediately on to listen to other volumes by Douglass. In paperback, I have also bought The Portable Frederick Douglass (Penguin Classics), which has excellent introductory essays by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and John Stauffer.
Douglass' powerful autobiography is even better if you precede or follow with W.E.B. Dubois and (though less powerful) Booker T. Washington. Their lives and audiences partly overlapped, and together give a great foundation on African American history in the second half of the 19th century. (and in Douglass case even earlier)..
The reader was ok, but could have been better.
Still a delightful listen