Books in African series

Born in Bermuda to a house slave in 1788, Mary Prince suffered the first of many soul-shattering experiences in her life when she was separated from her parents and siblings at the age of twelve. Subjected to bodily and sexual abuse by subsequent masters, she was bought and sold several times before she was ultimately freed.The first black woman to break the bonds of slavery in the British colonies and publish a record of her experiences, Prince vividly recalls her life in the West Indies, her rebellion against physical and psychological degradation, and her eventual escape in 1828 in England. Her straightforward, often poetic account of immense anguish, separation from her husband, and struggle for freedom inflamed public opinion during a period when stormy debates on abolition were common in both the United States and England.This edition also includes a substantial supplement by Thomas Pringle, the original editor, as well as another brief slave account: “The Narrative of Asa-Asa, a Captured African.”Essential reading for students of African-American studies, Mary Prince’s classic account of determination and endurance aids in filling the many gaps in black women’s history.

In the late 1930s, the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration embarked upon a project to interview 100 former American slaves. The result of that unique undertaking is this collection of authentic firsthand accounts documenting the lives of men and women once held in bondage in the antebellum South.In candid, often blunt narratives, elderly former slaves recall what it was like to wake before sunrise and work until dark, enduring whippings, branding, and separations from one’s spouse and children, suffer the horrors of slave auctions and countless other indignities, and finally to witness the arrival of Northern troops and experience the first days of ambiguous freedom.Included here are vivid descriptions of good masters and bad ones and treatment that ran the gamut from indulgent and benevolent supervision to the harshest exploitation and cruelty. These and many other unforgettable — sometimes unspeakable — aspects of slave life are recalled in simple, often poignant language that brings home with dramatic impact the true nature of slavery. Accompanied by 32 starkly compelling photographs, the text includes a new preface and additional essay by Norman R. Yetman, a specialist in American studies.A valuable resource for students and scholars of African-American history, this thoroughly engrossing book will be of great interest as well to general readers.

This simple, unvarnished account recalls the courageous life of Harriet Tubman, one of the best-known “conductors” on the Underground Railroad. First published in 1869 and privately printed to raise funds for “the Moses of her people,” Sarah Bradford’s memorable biography recalls the former slave’s grim childhood; her perilous experiences leading slaves into Canada; her efforts as a Civil War nurse, cook, and scout for the Union Army; and her post-conflict endeavors to aid and educate former slaves.An inspiring story of bravery, perseverance, and self-sacrifice, this accurate, reliable account by Tubman’s contemporary is essential reading for students of American history and African-American studies.

Born around 1817 in Maryland, Frederick Douglass was a former plantation slave who went on to become a brilliant writer and eloquent orator. In this amazing first-hand narrative, published in 1881, he vividly recounts his early years, which were filled with physical abuse, deprivation, and tragedy; his dramatic escapes to the North, recapture, and eventual freedom; his work for the Anti-Slavery Society and influential role in speaking for other African-Americans; his abolitionist campaigns, and crusade for full civil rights for former slaves.

Originally published in 1831,The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, was the first account of the life of a black woman to be published in the United Kingdom. Born into slavery in Bermuda, Mary Prince was the first woman to publish an account of her life as slave. Belonging to the genre of slave narratives, this first-hand description of the brutalities of enslavement, released at a time when slavery was still legal in Bermuda and British Caribbean colonies, had a galvanising effect on the anti-slavery movement. Prince's exacting details of the brutal treatment she experienced as a slave in Bermuda, Turks Island and Antigua lent weight to the abolitionist movement, which was at its height in England, when she arrived there in 1828.

Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin 20 Best Bets for Student Researchers 2002Based on the scholarship in the acclaimed academic Encyclopedia of Africa, which is aimed at college and graduate students, this work presents Africa, from Egypt to Cape Town and from prehistoric times to the present day, in a format that is inviting to high school students. The 4-vol. set spans many disciplines with its articles on animals, foods, holidays and festivals, tribal groups, ecology, music and art, trade and the economy, geography, religion, folklore, and fossil and skeletal discoveries.