Up from Slavery (Oxford World's Classics)
by Booker T. Washington
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Book Summary Information
Author: Booker T. WashingtonEditor: William L. Andrews
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-01-15
ISBN: 0199552398
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of Up from Slavery (Oxford World's Classics)
Book Review: A Good Man, an Inspiring Life
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this some time ago, combined with The Souls of Black Folk and The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. Up From Slavery was the warm-up, I guess, since it was the least offensive. Of course one reader's "least offensive" is another reader's "Uncle Tom". However one can't fairly judge someone from that era using the criteria from the modern time- a fairly simple principle that is too easily forgotten.
With that out of the way, let me say that as a southern kid in the late 60's reading this book I was tremendously inspired. We were hardly that far removed from Jim Crow, at least in years, so I think I was able to grasp a little of the obstacles Washington overcame. Still this is less a story of race than a story of faith, of vision, of the triumph of hard work, and the triumphs both in spite of as well as because of his fellow man.
The history in not too debatable, as it is an auto-biography. By definition thus the history of the author, and this becomes one of the strengths of the books- the common sense, no-nonsense love of life that
causes BTW to continually break through to the other side, and bring the reader with him. By the end of the book I wanted to start a college (as he did) and help my fellow man up from poverty any way I could. To not marvel at his accomplishments and to denigrate him with labels out of time is to do great injustice to the man, his relationship with God, and to his incredible achievements.
To sum: it is inspiring and real, and it gives a glimpse into some of the peculiar hardships resulting from the peculiar institution, but the process is almost the polar opposite of the victimhood route of today- from someone who could most justifiably have claimed himself such a victim.
Summary of Up from Slavery (Oxford World's Classics)
For the 50 years that followed its publication in 1901, Up from Slavery was the most widely known book written by an African American. The life of Booker T. Washington embodied the legendary rise of an American self-made man, and his autobiography gave voice for the first time to a vast group that had to pull itself up from nothing. In the well-documented ordeals and observations of this humble and plainspoken schoolmaster we find traces of Washington's other nature: the ambitious and tough-minded analyst. Here was a man who had to balance the demands of his fellow blacks with the constraints imposed on him by whites.About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Nineteenth-century African American businessman, activist, and educator Booker Taliaferro Washington's Up from Slavery is one of the greatest American autobiographies ever written. Its mantras of black economic empowerment, land ownership, and self-help inspired generations of black leaders, including Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Louis Farrakhan. In rags-to-riches fashion, Washington recounts his ascendance from early life as a mulatto slave in Virginia to a 34-year term as president of the influential, agriculturally based Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. From that position, Washington reigned as the most important leader of his people, with slogans like "cast down your buckets," which emphasized vocational merit rather than the academic and political excellence championed by his contemporary rival W.E.B. Du Bois. Though many considered him too accommodating to segregationists, Washington, as he said in his historic "Atlanta Compromise" speech of 1895, believed that "political agitation alone would not save [the Negro]," and that "property, industry, skill, intelligence, and character" would prove necessary to black Americans' success. The potency of his philosophies are alive today in the nationalist and conservative camps that compose the complex quilt of black American society.
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