A very comprehensive look at the events precedeing and including Black migration from the South after the Civil War. A must read for anyone interested in Black history or the Civil War.

This autobiographical condemnation of the south's Peculiar Institution puts a face on the suffering of the enslaved. American history is full of accounts of slavery which tend to broad overviews of the institution, whereas this book is written by an escaped slave who does not flinch at sharing every detail of her miserable life. Unlike other narratives which distorted the slave's voice through the perspective of the interviewers/authors who were notorious for exaggerating the uneducated slaves' broken english, this book is largely Ms. Jacobs' own words. She was taught to read and write as a child by a kind mistress, so she was able to put her thoughts on paper with clarity that surprised many. Ms. Jacobs had an editor, but this book seems to be her unfiltered view of the world.

It is one thing to hear about how slaveholders took liberties with female slaves, it is quite another to read in stark detail about women being commanded to lay down in fields, young girls being seduced and impregnated and their offspring sold to rid the slaveholder of the evidence of his licentiousness. The author talks about jealous white women, enraged by their husbands' behavior, taking it out on the hapless slaves. The white women were seen as ladies, delicate creatures prone to fainting spells and hissy fits whereas the Black women were beasts of burden, objects of lust and contempt simultaneously. Some slave women resisted these lustful swine and were beaten badly because of it. It was quite a conundrum. To be sure, white women suffered under this disgusting system too, though not to the same degree as the female slaves who had no one to protect them and their virtue. Even the notion of a slave having virtue is mocked. The author rejected the slaveholder's advances and dared to hope that she would be allowed to marry a free black man who loved and respected her. Not only was she not allowed to marry him, she was forbidden to see him or speak to him again.

The author shows us the depth of a mother's love as she suffers mightily to see that her children are not also brought under the yoke of slavery. Though she was able to elude her odious master, she does take up with some other white man in hopes that he would be able to buy her freedom. Her "owner" refuses to sell her and tells her that she and her children are the property of his minor daughter. Her lover seems kind enough as he claims his children and offers to give them his name, and he did eventually buy them, though he failed to emancipate them to spare them from a life of forced servitude. Ms. Jacobs noted that slavery taught her not to trust the promises of white men. Having lived in town most of her life, Ms. Jacobs is sent to the plantation of her master's cruel son to broken in after she continues to refuses his sexual advances. She is resigned to this fate until she learns that her children -- who were never treated like slaves -- were to be brought to the plantation also. It is then that she takes flight.

After enduring 7-years of confinement in cramped quarters under the roof of her grandmother's house, the author escapes to the North which is not quite the haven she imagined. Still, it is better than the south, and she makes friends who buy her freedom leaving her both relieved and bitter that she is still seen as property to be bought and sold like livestock. In New York Ms. Jacobs is reunited with her children and a beloved brother who'd escaped a few years ago while accompanying his master -- her former lover -- to the free states.

There is no fairytale ending to this story because the author endures plenty of abuse and uncertainty even after she makes it to the North. She is hunted down by the relentless slaveowners who were aided by the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and "The bloodhounds of the North." This is a wrenching account of this shameful period of American history, and should be required reading for all.

Intended to convince northerners -- particularly women -- of the rankness of Slavery, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl presents a powerful autobiography and convincing writing that reads like a gripping novel but is organized and argued like an essay.

Incidents follows the "true story" (its authenticity is doubted in some places) of Linda [Jacobs uses a pseudonym] who is born into the shackles of slavery and yearns for freedom. She lives with a depraved slave master who dehumanizes her, and a mistress who mistreats her. As the novel progresses, Linda becomes increasingly starved of freedom and resolves to escape, but Linda finds that even escaping presents its problems.

But Incidents is more than just a gripping narration of one woman's crusade for freedom, and is rather an organized attack on Slavery, intended to convince even the most apathetic of northerners. And in this too, Incidents succeeds. The writing is clear, and Jacobs' use of rhetorical strategy to preserve integrity is astonishing.

Well written, convincing, entertaining, Incidents is an amazing book.

Harriet Jacobs' (1813-1897) "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" is one of the few accounts of Southern slavery written by a woman. The book was published in 1861 through the efforts of Maria Child, an abolitionist who edited the book and wrote an introduction to it. The book had its origin in a series of letters Jacobs wrote between 1853 and 1861 to her friends in the abolitionist movement, notably a woman named Amy Post. Historically, there was some doubt about the authorship of the book and about the authenticity of the incidents it records. These doubts have largely been put to rest by the discovery of the letters.

The book indeed has elements of a disguise and of a novel. Jacobs never uses her real name but calls herself instead "Linda Brent." The other characters in the book are also given pseudonyms. Jacobs tells us in the Preface to the book (signed "Linda Brent") that she changed names in order to protect the privacy of indiduals but that the incidents recounted in the narrative are "no fiction".

Jacobs was born in slave rural North Carolina. As a young girl, she learned to read and write, which was highly rare among slaves. At about the age of 11 she was sent to live as a slave to a doctor who also owned a plantation, called "Dr. Flint" in the book.

Jacobs book describes well the cruelties of the "Peculiar Institution -- in terms of its beatings, floggings, and burnings, overwork, starvation, and dehumanization. It focuses as well upon the selling and wrenching apart of families that resulted from the commodification of people in the slave system. But Jacobs' book is unique in that it describes first-hand the sexual indignities to which women were subjected in slavery. (Other accounts, such as those of Frederick Douglass, were written by men.) The book is also unusual in that Jacobs does not portray herself entirely as a hero but describes the nature of the steps she took to avoid becoming the sexual slave of Flint. Thus, when Flint subjected her to repeated sexual advances from the time Jacobs reached the age of 16, she tried to avoid him by beginning an affair with a white, single attorney with whom she had two children. When Flint's advances persisted, Jacobs formed the determination to try to secure her freedom.

The bulk of the book describes how Jacobs hid precariously in a cramped attic for seven years waiting for the opporunity to secure her freedom. There are also accounts of her prior attempts to leave slavery, including a particularly harrowing account of several days in a place aptly named "Snaky Swamp."

Jacobs describes her relationship with her grandmother, a free black woman who was probably the major inspiration of her life. She also describes well her love and concern for her children, conceived through the liasion with the white attorney.

This book offers a rare perspective on American slavery as it affected women. It is also a testament, I think, to the value of literacy and knowledge as an instrument for winning and preserving free human life. Although this story is not pretty, it is a testament to human persistence in the face of adversity and to the precious character of human freedom.

Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol undertakes an interesting challenge as historian Nell Irvin Painter attempts to produce a "historically accurate" biography of a subject that left little evidence of her life. Moreover, Painter takes on another interesting challenge by attempting to analyze the meaning of Sojourner Truth the symbol-a task that requires her to analyze the layers of evidence produced by those who did document Sojourner Truth's life. Is she successful at producing a historically "accurate" biography? Does she successfully "peel back the myth and the legend" in the evidence left by those who documented Truth's life?

I think Painter is somewhat successful at presenting a historically accurate biography. I say somewhat because, on the one hand, she presents compelling evidence assembled from primary sources that document Truth's life-newspaper accounts, monographs, etc. And she obviously has a thorough command of the secondary sources related to Sojourner Truth. What is more, I think that her methodology-what she calls "more or less uncommon research methods"-allows her to reconstruct a version of Truth's life as best as possible. Assembling the pieces of an immense jigsaw puzzle such as this requires great patience and historical skill, both of which Painter exhibits in this work.

On the other hand, her command of the supporting sources, the sources that provide context for her analysis of the primary sources, is a little less complete. For example, as Painter acknowledges, religion-popular religion-is central to understanding American culture. And I think that in this case, one must have a thorough understanding of religion and the Bible to effectively document Truth's life. However, Painter makes at least one glaring mistake in her narrative when she conflates the stories of Lazarus the beggar, and Lazarus the brother of Mary and Martha (p. 127). Painter makes this fundamental error in her analysis of Truth's speech in an apparent attempt to interject an element of "class consciousness" into Truth's abolitionist-feminist discourse. Jesus did not resurrect Lazarus the beggar. Jesus resurrected Lazarus the brother of Mary and Martha, a well-respected and influential patron (the Lazarus to whom Truth refers). Does a gaff such as this mortally wound the entire analysis? Probably not. But, in a book that so heavily relies on "imaginative methods" and "unknowns," it is probably a good idea to have command of the "knowns"-in this case the New Testament.

This analytical error also points to problems in answering the question concerning whether Painter succeeds in "peeling back the myth and legend." Persons who produced the majority of the evidence that Painter uses had a vested interest in Truth the symbol, which eventually led to the perpetuation of myth and legend. Truth is often used to advance causes such as abolitionism and feminism. And while Painter dismisses those who have used Truth the symbol and perpetuated myth and legend, she is left with little without this evidence. In the end Painter concedes that one can not separate the symbol and the person without destroying the "cultural significance" of Sojourner Truth. Cultural significance trumps historical accuracy in the final chapter. And paradoxically, it appears Painter falls into the same trap as her predecessors as she "peels back" the myth and legend. Her analysis on pages 126 and 127 (and in other places throughout the book) strongly suggests that she is adding her own layers and doing to Sojourner Truth, what others-the ones she dismisses-have done.

I THINK THIS BOOK IS VERY EDUCATIONAL. I REALLY ENJOYED READING IT. I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT TRUTH. PAINTER WAS A WONDERFUL WRITER. SHE DESCRIBED EVERYTHING TO THE MAX.

When I read a book, I want to get a lot out of it, as I enjoy the reading of it. On the second point: this book is engagingly written. The author questions her own motives and information as she constructs a biography of a difficult life to document. We see Painter confront the challenges of performing biography. I found it a compelling literary device. On the first point, the book mixes biography with history and feminist criticism. This interdisciplinary focus produces a highly inviting book. Among other topics, we find out about the details of slavery in the North, 19th century religious cults, and the ways in which feminists and abolitionists of the time exploited Truth for their own gain, as well as how this appropriation of "Truth" continues to the present. On this point, we learn much about contemporary feminism and culture and its need for heroes-especially African American female heroes.

Standing at Armageddon, by Nell Irvin Painter, covers American history from Reconstruction to the end of World War I, outlining American progress many fronts. At different times, it works as pieces of social, political, and economic history. Painter's attention to detail informs the reader with razor-sharp accuracy, but also at times provides too much information, revealing Painter's personal biases. In outlining this period of American history, Painter asserts that America was performing a tight-rope walk on the brink of destruction. America's omnipresent danger of collapse is portrayed through looks at social, economic, and political history, but the three are sometimes interconnected and some are presented more than others. In the mix, reform and inequality are paramount. Painter belabours the plight of women and blacks especially, devoting a chapter to each. Using many resources, Painter explores the aspects of social reform, including comprehensive reports of the working class, and the struggle for reform, this book is easily called social history, perhaps at the expense of political and economic history. Painter discusses the plight of women with especial detail, showing all sides of suffrage and oppression. Her female subjects range from Jane Addams to Emma Goldman, displaying convictions, goals, and accomplishments of each. Her thoughtfulness in this type of integration shows she has a flair for demonstrating societal matters. As a work of political history, SAA is fine. Important acts of legislation and politicians are not left out of the mix, and are integrated well with social aspects. With regard to legislation, no important bill is left out. The book nicely traces the rise and fall of the Civil Rights Act of 1975 and then follows up, discussing the "separate but equal" and Jim Crow laws that followed. Seamlessly, Painter follows up with the effects of said laws on society, furthering this book as a piece of social history. Economic history is present in this book, but is the servant of social and political history. For example, the bimetallism debates of the late 19th-century are explained with regards to society, such as farmers and rural citizens, and politics, such as the international effects of bimetallism, but the book does not speculate on bimetallism itself. The book also discusses economic factions such as the Greenbackers, but does so with regard to the groups themselves, instead of their economic principles. This book is not a work of economic history, but it does effectively integrate it with other subject matters. SAA covered a great many different topics within its time period, but concentrated most heavily on social history. Political history is also used, discussed, and mentioned. However, the economic history as a servant to the other two lessens its value as an independent topic, though it is nonetheless worthwhile. Though Painter tries mightily to cram a lot between the covers of this book, she doesn't spend as much time on some topics as one might expect. For example World War I is crammed into about 25 pages, whereas the 1890's depression, women's suffrage, and racial inequality are all discussed in more detail. This can be construed as a shortcoming, but considering the number of other books on World War I, and the relative scarcity of books combining information on suffrage, racial tension, and the 1890's depression, it is understandable. It is important that Painter's book is not a comprehensive report of 1877-1919, rather, a selection of various topics from that period. All subjects can be discussed in either more or less detail, and with only a few discrepancies, Painter strikes a nice balance. While reform is an omnipresent theme, especially in the era of SAR, Painter sometimes leaves gaps. Her treatment of the conservation movements of the early 20th century are interesting, but she leaves out looming subjects, including the Hetch-Hetchy debate. She also discusses strikes, but never puts them into perspective with eachother. That weakness is also evident in her handling of the topic of the International Workers of the World - it is often mentioned but little-discussed. However, the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union is revealed in great detail. Painter's feminine bias towards history, revealed in the way she attaches a feminine viewpoint to everything, is usually interesting, but rarely in perspective with larger issues. Perhaps the best thing about SAA is topic selection. While at certain moments they seem illogical and myopic (25 pages for WWI! ), they ultimately provide a clear view of SAA's time period and act as excellent intellectual springboards, informing you of a topic, telling you important details and piquing your curiosity should you choose to pursue a subject further. On any topic, SAA provides a fair idea of whatever the subject is, inasmuch as 30 or so pages will allow. Aside from that, there are no great shortcomings to SAR. As a whole, SAA is pretty optimistic. No matter what topic, one gets a sense of hope. Painter allows for a subjective look at history, although emphasizing the good over the bad. For instance, even the coverage of the depression of the 1890's quickly gives way to the hope and good fortune of "Coxey's Army," and sums up with the fact that Jacob Coxey died that the age of ninety-seven, completely vindicated. SAA is not a tragedy. It describes the hard times, scandals, and evils that accompanied this period, but never despairs for healthy resolution. SAA hopes for the best, and describes it. All in all, Standing at Armageddon is an impressive work. Tackling topics ranging from Bolshevism to the Spanish-American War is no small feat, and Painter succeeds. Aside from a few grievances (unequal coverage of topics, etc.,) SAA offers a sweeping view of 1877-1919 that is practically comprehensive. More information would make the book bulky and unwieldy, and less would be inadequate. Nell Irvin Painter should congratulate herself on writing a book deftly covering so much between covers that are so close together. In the end, Standing at Armageddon walks the same tight-rope that America did at the turn of the 20th century and rarely

This book was good. Painter is a good author

When I was a young boy my father used to read me lots and lots of books as I lay in bed on a cold winters night. I like this one the best.

A Secret Eye was a huge disappointment. The characters were not as developed and colorful as one might expect. The diary/journal form became ho-hum after the first few entries. The dragging subjects and subject matter made the 470 pages difficult to wade through. Augusta has always been my home and I did enjoy some of the local history. I am certain a more interesting story could have been told about my hometown.