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Loading... Up from Slaveryby Booker T. Washington
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Incredibly inspiring. I'm so glad that I was able to read this! I probably wouldn't have bothered to pick it up, if it wasn't for my college level American History class. It's a shame this isn't mandatory reading! (  )touchthesky | Jun 2, 2009 |  1   As a historical document, this is an impressive achievement with Washington's regular integration of statistics, news reviews, and speeches, along with his multiple brushes with historical figures such as U.S. Presidents. At the same time, whether a reader is familiar with the questions of the book's history or not, his voice doesn't come across as all-together candid. It feels formed, tailored to the subject and intent instead of the truth. I can't say that I blame the author considering his need to raise funds for projects at Tuskegee, but at the same time, it takes a great deal out of the pleasure I normally find in reading an autobiography. The language is undoubtedly graceful and telling of interesting subjects, but some of the flavor and anecdote I'd normally expect of autobiography just wasn't there. I recommend the autobiography to anyone interested in the raising of institutions, Tuskegee or others, or those interested in Washington himself, but I wouldn't recommend this probably to someone who is just generally an avid reader of autobiography. In the end, I just wanted more--more honesty, more fault, more specifics. It felt as if this was, simply, too perfectly formed and executed toward Washington's purpose of the time, so dating the text on some level. (  )whitewavedarling | Mar 22, 2009 | 2565 Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington (read 5 Jan 1994) This classic was published in 1901. His account of his life before 1881 (he was born between 1856 and 1859) was interesting--he was really living at a substandard level. But the time after 1881 was mostly spent talking about how great his school was, and how white people said great things about him. He was an Uncle Tom, no doubt. (  )Schmerguls | Apr 13, 2008 | Very good. I think this book should be required reading for everyone. Society as a whole would be in so much better shape if we carried the same values and philosophy as Mr. Washington. ( )TheVillageIdiot | Jan 24, 2008 | Booker T. Washington published this, his second, autobiography, in 1901 at age 45. It is a fascinating account of his childhood slavery, emancipation, education, and rise to prominence as a college educator and highly acclaimed African American leader. This is one book I had a hard time putting down. It reveals a man deeply committed to helping African Americans in post-Reconstruction America earn respect based on their skillful work and valuable contributions to society. A quote from the book seems to summarize Washington’s personal philosophy: “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” He believed that striving for excellence and working cooperatively with all people, regardless of ethnicity or station, was the key to the black man winning his rightful place in the world. It is recommended reading for those wishing to broaden their understanding of and appreciation for African American history, post-Civil War race relations, or the history of higher education in America. The Penguin Classics edition has an index, endnotes (18 in all), and an interesting introduction by historian and Washington biographer Louis R. Harlan. (  )deanc | Jul 14, 2007 | 0.050 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0486287386, Paperback)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.(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:13 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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