Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1888513 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.30 pounds
• Binding: Library Binding
• 150 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The narratives of Frederick Douglass, Nat Love, Sojourner Truth and others form the basis of Slaves Who Dared: The Stories of Ten African-American Heroes by Mary Garrison, a collection of single-chapter biographies of former captives. Informative photographs and historical illustrations and reproductions round out the volume. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9 In graphic language, this book tells the stories of 10 free African Americans who were born into slavery. The accounts of their lives are harrowing and little is left to the imagination, particularly with respect to how they were mistreated by their masters. Since nearly all of the persons depicted wrote down or told their stories to someone, the tellings are, wherever possible, based on those narratives. The tone of each one makes it quite clear that these men and women were heroes, not only for their survival but also for the lives they made for themselves after gaining freedom. Historical photographs and engravings illustrate the text, with the captions making it clear which of the images are representative and which ones are specific. Insert boxes explain more fully concepts that are referred to in the text. The index is comprehensive. There are a number of books devoted to former slaves who made their way to freedom and successful lives, such as Dennis Brindell Fradin's Bound for the North Star: True Stories of Fugitive Slaves (Clarion, 2000) and Virginia Hamilton's Many Thousand Gone (Random, 1995). Some of the subjects here are handled as well elsewhere, and for many of them, for example Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Sojourner Truth, and Nat Love, full biographies are available. About other subjects in this collection, however, very little is known and there are few sources for students that are as comprehensive. -Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-12. Drawing directly on the narratives of 10 men and women who escaped slavery, this stirring collective biography brings their history very close. The famous are here, including Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth; but there are several who will be less familiar to readers. The accounts work together to fill in this historical period. Unfortunately, each bio begins with an overblown, semi-fictionalized moment ("Henry woke with a pounding fear in his heart"). The stark truth needs no such rhetoric. In fact, the authentic sources are an integral part of the story, and Garrison does a great job of weaving into each narrative many actual quotes, illustrations (such as historical prints and facsimiles), and the drama of how and where the stories were recorded. She also provides detailed information about Web sites where readers can find the original narratives. The brutality is here, including graphic images of whippings and of families torn apart at slave auctions; so is the courage of those who fought back. Hazel Rochman
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