Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Published in 1845, this pre-eminent American slave narrative powerfully details the life of the internationally famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass from his birth into slavery in 1818 to his escape to the North in 1838—how he endured the daily physical and spiritual brutalities of his owners and drivers, how he learned to read and write, and how he grew into a man who could only live free or die.