Voices from Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives

by Norman R. Yetman

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486409120
• ISBN13: 9780486409122
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Close to conversing with slaves

Importantly, this is an "easy" read. Since it is a compilation of stories told by people who had been slaves, it is not full of theory or the writing of historians demonstrating their ability to use obscure words. It is obviously all the more powerful and interesting as a result. If you know people and how to read between the lines, you walk away from this book with an understanding of just how complex slavery was and how different the treatment of slaves based simply on who was the slave owner. The author tried to balance selections, but I am suspicious of how balanced these accounts can be since I assume the slaves treated the worst were less likely to survive into their 80s and 90s, the ages of slaves interviewed. Nevertheless, it seems like a full range of individual experience is shown even if possibly not in proportion. I have seen filmed interviews and read the stories of concentration camp survivors. To me, the tales told in this book comes the closest to that learning experience in terms of understanding what slavery was like for the slaves.

Absolutely Fascinating.

This book is probably one of the best I've read. To learn about slavery from those who went through it is incredibly worthwile because it ensures we do not make the mistakes of the past. The narratives are so powerful they bring you back to that time. For some of the people interviewed in this book being a slave wasn't as horrible as it was for others, but all of the narratives in this book have a common thread--freedom. They did not take their newfound freedom for granted; as we do now.

Important Historical Narratives In Book Form

This is a must read for anyone interested in the foundaton of this country. It is a validaton of the ravages of slavery from the voices of those who were born into it. It demonstrates how far African Americans have come through faith, education and family after the systematic attempt to destroy the human spirit of many of those responsible for building this nation. It is an outstanding work of the WPA and one of its projects. These narratives are, along with many more, in the United States National Archives. However, Norman Yetman includes more than fifty important additonal pages of introduction, background information and other important details that make this collection invaluable. The powerful photographs take you into some of the lives of other slaves, allowing them to speak visually.

The Perfect Compilation

Norman Yetman has done every researcher of African American history a great service by his splendid compilation in "Voice from Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives." Yetman used a precise formula for inclusion and/or exclusion in order to compile these 100 narratives out of more than 3000 interviews performed by the WPA in the 1930s. They are clearly representative of the entire 3000, while at the same time of greater length and providing more detail than the 2900 others. Here the reader hears first-hand the voices of the ex-enslaved African American--telling his or her story with startling imagery and amazing detail. This is a one-of-a-kind collection well worth buying, reading, and re-reading. Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction." He has also authored "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming "Sacred Friendships: Listening to the Voices of Women Soul Care-Givers and Spiritual Directors."

The only book worth reading on slavery in America!

This book is emotional, heartwrenching, eyeopening, treasure for entering into the personal horror and nightmare of slavery in America. Told by those who experienced it first hand it has motivated me to continue educating through storytelling of the "other side of gone with the wind" to audiences worldwide. The photographs are rarely seen and in my work I use them in a display to share in Civil War workshops to those who have never seen the reality of American history in school books.The brother with his foot cut off holding books on his knee is as strong a message one can have on the value of education and freedom! If you haven't read this book you have no knowledge or interest in the truth of American History! Get the real deal...get this book!