"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, written by Himself" (1845) is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States. "My Bondage and My Freedom" (1855) shows the inspiring manner in which Frederick Douglass transforms himself from slave to fugitive to one of the most powerful voices to emerge from the American civil rights movement, leaving behind a legacy of social, intellectual, and political thought.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass wrote in 1845. It’s an autobiographic story about slavery and freedom, constant aim to run away from the owner and at last become a free man. One failure follows another one. But in the end the fortune favours Douglass and he runs away on a train to the north, New-York. It would seem he is free now. Suddenly, he realises that his journey isn’t finished yet. He understands that even after he got free he can’t be at real liberty until the slavery is abolished in the USA…

Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass from Coterie Classics All Coterie Classics have been formatted for ereaders and devices and include a bonus link to the free audio book. “I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only increased my desire to be free, and set me to thinking of plans to gain my freedom. I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceased to be a man.” ― Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass’ first-person account of his journey from slave to educated and free transformed American thought and is an essential piece of reading from American history.

Introduction by Kwame Anthony Appiah Commentary by Jean Fagan Yellin and Margaret Fuller This Modern Library edition combines two of the most important African American slave narratives—crucial works that each illuminate and inform the other. Frederick Douglass’s Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. Born into slavery, Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life; his narrative is an unparalleled account of the dehumanizing effects of slavery and Douglass’s own triumph over it. Like Douglass, Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1861 she published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, now recognized as the most comprehensive antebellum slave narrative written by a woman. Jacobs’s account broke the silence on the exploitation of African American female slaves, and it remains essential reading. Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide

This revision of the acclaimed and widely assigned Norton Critical Edition of Frederick Douglass’s great autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself includes key examples of literary and cultural analyses that have engaged scholars over the last three decades. This Norton Critical Edition includes: - Frederick Douglass’s 1845 Narrative, the most influential autobiography of its kind. - A preface and explanatory footnotes by William L. Andrews and William S. McFeely. - Contemporary perspectives by Douglass, Margaret Fuller, James Monroe Gregory, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. - Essays by William L. Andrews, William S. McFeely, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Deborah E. McDowell, Houston A. Baker, Jr., Jeannine Marie DeLombard, and Robert D. Richardson, Jr. - A Chronology and a Selected Bibliography.

The impassioned abolitionist and eloquent orator provides graphic descriptions of his childhood and horrifying experiences as a slave as well as a harrowing record of his dramatic escape to the North and eventual freedom.