Frederick Douglass

January 2, 1995
Extracts from writings and speeches by the 19th-century abolitionist are paired with Alcorn's dramatic linocuts. (Jan.) Melba Patillo Beals, who as a teenager in 1957 became a key player in a critical civil rights struggle, has abridged for young readers her affecting adult title Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High School (Pocket/Archway, paper $3.99, ages 11-up ISBN 0-671-89900-7). The original edition was reviewed in Nonfiction Forecasts, March 28, 1994. (Feb.). African American children star in one new and one reissued title added to HarperFestival's Let's Read Aloud series: Eloise Greenfield's Honey, I Love, originally published in 1978, receives homey new illustrations by Jan Spivey Gilchrist, who also provides the artwork for Greenfield's bucolic On My Horse ($7.95 each, ages 2-5, 20p, ISBN 0-694-00579-7; -00583-5, Jan.).

October 15, 1999
Taylor (I Was Born a Slave: An Anthology of Classic Slave Narratives), an editor at Lawrence Hill, serves readers and libraries well by adapting and abridging Foner's acclaimed The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, Vols. 1-5 (International Publishers, 1950-1975). As the text shows, Douglass's language, intellect, and humanity create a compelling narrative of 19th-century America. On display here are his ideas about abolitionism, feminism, electoral politics, and peace, as well as family, religion, literature, and economics. Although Taylor does not always provide thorough citations, this much of Douglass's work is not available elsewhere in such an affordable volume. Recommended for public and academic libraries.--Sherri Barnes, Ventura, CA

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 1999
Renowned as the outstanding African American of the nineteenth century, Douglass was, without doubt, one of the most outstanding Americans of all times. Although he is known contemporarily through his exceptional writings, during his life Douglass was mainly known as an orator. Some consider him the greatest American orator of his time, a substantial power in the formation of public opinions. It was through his speeches and writings that Douglass changed U.S. history. This volume, developed from a series of five volumes originally edited by Foner, covers Douglass' speeches and writings over a 54-year period. The breadth and depth of his focus and concerns reflected in more than 2,000 speeches, editorials, articles, and letters provide a wellspring of knowledge about the man and his intellect. Although many historical personalities rise and fall in contemporary interest, Douglass' substantial work over this period provides a critique of the U.S. that resonates as strongly today as it did at the time. ((Reviewed October 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)