Helpful Score: 4
Absolutely moving novel. This is the second unabridged replication of the first 1853 publishing. I hated that Solomon was a slave,but his words are so moving and this is such a haunting read. He was a citizen of New York, kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and rescued in 1853 from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana. Excellent history. Very few personal accounts of American slavery were written by slaves with a similar history. Published first in 1853 this book found a ready audience almost immediately.
Helpful Score: 4
This is the extremely engaging autobiography of a remarkable person who overcame crushing adversity to achieve significant success in life. Written in the picturesque prose style of the nineteenth centry, it has an unmistakable air of authenticity and gives us a fascinating window into certain aspects of slavery mimnus the polemic sometimes associated with similar works.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a fascinating book written by a free man of color from New York who in 1841 was kidnapped in the south and sold into slavery. He was a slave for 12 years before being rescued, and his insight into the institution of slavery is a story not to be missed.
Helpful Score: 1
The true story of a free black man, kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841 and his subsequent years of bondage, as reported by the slave himself. This book recreates the daily expectations which were routine for a slave in Louisanna, along with explaining their work in the cotton and sugar cane fields. You follow Solomon Northup through his years of bondage, his trial and his liberation.
