Cheap Frederick Douglass (Book) (William S. McFeely) Price

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Customer Reviews of Frederick Douglass

A Decent Look at the Life of an Admirable American
It's a shame that more people don't know about the life of Frederick Douglass. He goes beyond being just a "Neat Guy" or somebody who overcame something bad, as the author tries to show. McFeely's book does an adequate job of showing the long list of Douglass' accomplishments that would impress anyone during any era while reminding people that this was a guy who couldn't read until he was a teenager. Douglass found a balance between the brute force of mind and body to clear intimidating obstacles from his path and create a life that he seemed to enjoy. Readers will know of his thirst to learn, an escape to the North, fist fights on the docks as a ship caulker, his lectures and writings, world travel, role of advisor to several President's, newspaperman, Bank President (that didn't go too well) and even an Ambassador who defied the Navy. McFeely's one annoying tendency is pretending to know what Douglass was thinking and feeling at any given moment - as if the book was concocted after a seance. Douglass left ample writings upon his death, but was relatively unemotional and guarded about his inner thoughts. Fine. McFeely needed to use more letters and writings of contemporaries to try and fill in gaps and give meaning to Douglass' actions, not provide speculation mixed with fact. In the end, readers are left with a book that does well at describing an independent, forceful and determined man who left an impression on this country like a thumbprint on wet concrete. If you can brush aside McFeely's subjective Oprahization of Douglass' inner thoughts, then you can enjoy the book.

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Uninspired Examination of a Monuemental Life
Looking for a biography of the former slave turned lecturer and abolitionist, I came across this work by author McFeely. The first section regarding the birth and circumstances of Douglass' flight to freedom was full of what I consider "psychobabble". The author makes too many conjectures concerning the relationship of Douglass with his owner, including possible latent homosexual feelings but never includes any information to back this claim up. The story picks up when Douglass moves to New England and becomes involved in the abolistionist causes. His travels to England and his relationship with women working for the cause of women's suffrage is particularly interesting. However, the remainder of the book seems to meander with no purpose.

I am still searching for a biography which puts this man's life into context.

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Adequate Book About a Fascinating American
Frederick Douglass is an authentic American and a heroic figure. For those wishing to become aquainted with a chronicle of his life, McFeely's book will do the job.

Born a slave in Maryland, Douglass accomplished the difficult task of self education in an era when slaves were not taught under penalty of law. "Running away with himself" (as Southerners used to describe slaves who escaped) twenty years before the Civil War, he became one of our country's great orators in telling the tale of his life as a bondsman and urging that America embrace emancipation of all slaves. He was perhaps the anti-slavery movement's best spokesman. Not only for the sheer eloquence with which he captivated audiences, but as living proof that a black could be educated to a level reached by few people of any race.

Douglass did his part for the Union in the Civil War and bought into Republicanism as the best political vehicle for achieving the end of slavery and the leveling up of blacks to their rightful place in American society. His hopes were frustrated after the Civil War when his party turned away from Reconstruction and blacks were subjugated anew by racism, indifference and Jim Crowism.

Douglass was an idealist in that he believed that America could be exhorted into granting slaves not only their freedom but their civil rights and social equality. His country failed his vision miserably and he ended his life personnally successful (as successful as his skin color could take him in the 1890's) but very distraught at the chasm between his hopes for a free America and the reality.

This is an adequate book, though dry at times. It follows Douglass chronologically. In episodes where his life was a fascinating story -- as a slave, his escape, his establishment in the North, as a politician and as US minister to Haiti -- the book is a fascinating tale. Not so fascinating are long accounts of his work on the road delivering speeches as an agent of the anti-slavery movement. Part of the problem with writing a biography of a man who was in large part a professional orator is that the chapters focusing on that work are not very exciting. Mcfeely spends a lot of ink detailing his journies on the stump and his meetings with many characters who were part of the American and English anti-slavery movements. Douglass's life flow, when examined chronologically, produces a story of varying degrees of drama. Although any biograhpher is limited by his character, I had the feeling throughout that Douglass's life could be told with more verve without sacrificing the facts.

What McFeely should have jettisoned were several parts where he delved into psychobabble -- speculations about sexual attraction or the depth of feeling between Douglass and several figures in his life. Human feelings and attractions are an important part of any biography and certainly shaped Douglass's life. McFeeley speculates on several without any facts to support his views. These are relegated to the first half of the book and do not intrude greatly, however.

If one needs or wants to learn about the life of this great American, McFeeley's book will fill the bill.