Can anyone recommend GREAT books on black history giving reference to slavery. Name and Author?

Question

Please list ones you've read w/a brief description of your experience in reading it.

Answer 1

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa- Walter Rodney, 1973

*Very informative and enlightening*

From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans- John Hope Franklin, 2000

*All-Inclusive and informative*

Answer 2

Taking Liberty by Ann Rinaldi
I read it this past week and loved it. It's based on the true story of Oney Judge, a slave of George Washington, who ran away during his term as president.

Day of Tears by Julius Lester
I read this one last year. It is very good. Very powerful. Beautifully done. The main action in this one is about a slave auction and how it effects both the black and white participants not only at the time but decades later.

Answer 3

Fiction or Nonfiction?

A great fiction book is Beloved, by Toni Morrison. I thought this was the best fiction work dealing with the issues surrounding slavery. Its strength is Morrison's ability to put the lingering trauma of slavery into modern terms.

Answer 4

The autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Fiction, but based on the true experiences of several people.

Answer 5

Song of Solomon by Toni Morison

Answer 6

Try reading Alex Haley's Roots. Very consuming reading.

Answer 7

If I just had Two Wings by Virginia Frances Schwarz.
i myself read it a long time ago, and i don't remember much, but my best friend absolutely adores it, and has read it 5 times.

Answer 8

I recommend two beautifully written classics that reference slavery in different ways.

1. _Light in August_ by William Faulkner.
Light in August is an exploration of racial conflict in the society of the Southern United States. The title of the book was inspired by the special light that illuminates Mississippi in August, which seems to come from the far past. [N.B. according to Jay Parini's biography "One Matchless Time" the title came from his wife and referred to giving birth in August.] This underlines Faulkner's interest in the weight of history and the manner in which we relate to our pasts. A "light," at this time, was also a slang term for a pregnancy. Thus, a "Light in August" highlights the pregnancy and childbirth of one of the novel's protagonists, Lena Grove.Originally Faulkner planned to call the novel Dark House, which also became the working title for Absalom, Absalom! However, one evening while sitting on a porch during a summer evening, his wife remarked on the strange quality that light in the south has during the month of August. Faulkner rushed out of his chair to his manuscript, scratched out the original title, and pencilled in Light in August.

So this Light in August can be seen in the novel as Lena Grove's newly born child. The child is born in August and is the "light" of the new generation. A generation untouched by the racism, prejudice, and hatred of the past.

http://en.allexperts.com/e/l/li/light_in_august.htm

2. _Invisible Man_ by Ralph Ellison.
When published in 1952, Invisible Man excited a new way of looking at racial tensions within America, one that was unapologetic of its racial stand and unconvinced that racial equality was emerging. Ralph Ellison’s prolific novel left a lasting effect on society, as seen in its traces from the Harlem Renaissance to the follow-up Black Arts Movement. The Harlem Renaissance sought to uplift the black race by offering a substantial amount of greatness in art and literature to the masses of America. Its primary goal was achieving social acceptance in society by building black unity, one grounded in expertise of sophisticated arts and literature. Though Ralph Ellison is seen as a Harlem Renaissance writer by many, the themes from Invisible Man break away from the movement's major theme of social acceptance and hope for the future. Invisible Man suggests that any foreseeable solution to race relations may not be as near as the dream has provided. On the same note, Invisible Man cannot entirely be viewed as black arts movement literature as its ideas about race aren't as militant and extreme as those of the 1960s and 70s black arts movement. Because of this Invisible Man is often seen as a transition between the two.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Man

Both books were excellent, but I was most intrigued by _Invisible Man_. In fact, I reread it every few years.

Answer 9

"The Underground Railroad" by Harriet Tubman

Answer 10

the life of Frederick Douglas, he is the one who wrote it too...it talks all about his family and his life as a slave, it was very interesting and i recommend that book to everyone. hope you read this book :o)