The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

He was eloquent and articulate - obviously well-educated. And sophisticated, too. He was also a slave who escaped to freedom.

But no one believed that, so he published his life story in 1845 to answer the skeptics. Not content to rest on the favorable attention his book received, he recruited black soldiers for the Union army and organized a campaign to educate the newly freed citizens. He saw that only knowledge could ensure true freedom.

"Insightful, comprehensive, dramatic." (Chicago …