Frederick Douglass by Hourly History – Book Review

This is a short biography by Hourly History of the American Civil Rights activist during the late 19^th Century, Frederick Douglass.

The book starts with the practice of slavery in the United States, followed by the early life of Frederick Douglass and his eventual escape from slavery, becoming a well-known orator and writer and eventually, an activist for abolition of slavery and equal voting rights for African Americans and women.

The book started well, giving a background into the practice of slavery, the punishment for escaping and the risks involved and the eventual escape by Douglass. The book also elaborated well on his activism and his quest for acquiring knowledge and also, had a touch upon his personal life. To be fair, I have heard of activists such as Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman or Martin Luther King Jr. but I had never heard of Frederick Douglass and considering that position, I felt that the book gave me a good insight into the personality as well as the history of slavery in the United States.

I felt that the book overrated his bid for the office of the Vice-President of the United States, considering, he didn’t run for any major party and attained negligible votes. Even if the book had to mention that, they also should have given the information that he ran along with an independent and didn’t secure significant votes.

I enjoyed reading the book, I feel Douglass is not a personality touched upon by many of the books on Civil Rights movement, unlike the others I have already mentioned and I am glad that I read the book. I would award the book a rating of seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy