I am a decendent of Josiah Henson. I attended a family reunion in Ont. Canada in August 1999. Any decendent having information on Josiah Henson or interested and attending the next family reunion please contact me at my e-mail address.

I am a living decendent of Josiah Henson. He led a terriilbe but fullfilling life.

josiah henson was used as a model for harriett beecher stowe's uncle tom. however he was very different from uncle tom. he was very proud, ambitious, driven by his convictions, and was very creative in efforts to improve himself, his family, and the lot of escaped slave families in canada. he wrestled with his strong christian faith, his pride, and his rather dishonest masters. but he persevered in inspiring fashion. among his achievements were cooperative effort to establish a manual labor school, a sawmill, learning to read from his oldest son, becoming an accomplished methodist preacher, and marketing black walnut lumber in boston and england. the bishop of canterbury asked him which university he had attended, and josiah henson replied "the university of adversity." his children must have been one of his best endeavors, and i suspect that this is reflected in the title of the book.

A compelling and highly readable indictment of slavery in America, "Dred" takes risks that "Uncle Tom's Cabin" did not. The ending of "Dred" is powerful and strong, unlike that of "Uncle Tom", which seemed to advocate ultimately that the slaves should be freed and encourged to return to Africa. Harriet Beecher Stowe is just as sharp in her criticism of the North and she is to the South. She is quick to condemn the passive profiteers of slavery as she is the slaveholder himself. I throughly enjoyed this book. I will read it a secod time.

John R. Adams's "Harriet Beecher Stowe: Updated Edition," in the Twayne's United States Authors Series is a short and succinct biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe from A to Z in less than 131 pages. No small task considering her influence on 19th century America.

Adam's book includes a chronology of events that serves as an excellent outline of the major events in Stowe's life. The book also includes a section on research notes, a selected bibliography and it includes a detailed index.

The book in organized by major life periods, such as her moving to Cincinnati and her publication of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The book will serve those who require a significant understanding of Stowe without spending a lot of time reading larger biographies of her life. Therefore, it can be describe as an excellent introductory text. Well suitable for those studying American Civil War history, American literature, American religious history or women's history.

While John R. Adams is not an historian, he has clearly contributed to our understanding of Harriet Beecher Stowe and her writings. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California.

Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by a woman who appalled slavery, has touched the hearts of many readers. Wanting to change and affect public opinion on the concept of slavery, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a novel, a dramatic, engaging narrative that claimed the heart, soul, and politics of many fellow Americans. It was propaganda and an attempt to make whites in the North and South see slaves as mortal human beings with Christian souls.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is the story of the slave Tom. Strong and loyal as he is, his "good" master, Mr. Shelby, sells Tom to Mr. Haley, a slave trader, to pay off a debt. Mr. St. Clare then purchases him as an act of gratitude for saving his daughter's life. After St. Clare's death, his wife goes against his wishes and sends him to a slave warehouse where he is bought by the "bullet headed" Mr. Simon Legree. Here, Tom endures brutal treatment at the hands of his master. By exposing the extreme cruelties of slavery, Stowe explores society's failures and asks, what is it to be a moral human being?"
The novel was revolutionary for its passionate indictment of slavery and its presentation of Tom, "a man of humanity." Labeled racist and condescending by some contemporary critics, Uncle Tom's Cabin still remains a shocking, controversial, and powerful piece of literature--exposing the attitudes of white nineteenth century society toward the institution of slavery, and documenting the tragic breakup of black Kentucky families.
I would definately recommend this novel to all well-informed readers looking for literature with much diction and imagery. It would also suit the needs of those looking for a great plot. However, I caution those sensitive to great detail of torture because this novel is very strong and graphic on the broad issue of slavery.

I read this book originally to understand what was meant by the statement: "He's an Uncle Tom." This was usually said as a derogatoy statement. After reading the book I don't think this statement has been used correctly. As a Christian who loves the Lord I have to rate it as one of the best books that every Christian should read. I guess the derogatory statement comes from what looks like a black man being in willing submission to his master. From a Christian's point of view it is actually a man of God being in submission to His God.

As it was originally written to expose the life of slavery the book obviously does that very well. I heard that Abraham Lincoln said to Harriett Beecher Stowe upon meeting her, "So, you're the women responsible for starting the Civil War." Her account of slavery is vividally brutal.

With these two aspects in mind I can say that this book has a tremendous affect on my thinking. The horrors of slavery along w/the reality of God working in the lives of both 'slave & free' are what remain in my thoughts. After reading Uncle Tom's Cabin I'm reminded that we Christians are to have the heart of a servant following Jesus' example.

This wonderful almost tearjerking novel is a must-reader. Eliza escaping the slavecatchers by grace of God and going into the hands of a protective Quaker settlement. Then Tom being sold, losing Eva, and then being sold again to a horrible bullet-headed man Simon Legree-finally to be whipped to death are just some powerful parts to name a few. There are slow parts, but they soon drop to places that leave your heart racing. This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.

Possibly a greater work of art than Uncle Tom's Cabin, Oldtown Folks gives a penetrating and panornamic view of life in a New England village in the years following the Revolutionary War, and before the coming of the railroad and the steam engine. This book is beautiful, filled with rich insights about people and very humorous. In gives a vivid portrait of the social life and thinking of the people in the era. Stowe wrote the book in an effort to preserve for future generations the life, which she had known growing up as a child and which she saw passing away under the force of industrialization. She succeeded marvelously. This work along with perhaps five or six other novels by Stowe are a neglected national treasure. America would not be the society it is today, if Harriet Beecher Stowe were widely read and discussed. The society which did so at the time this work was written was capable of electing Abraham Lincoln to be President. One can only hope that such a day might come again.

A funny, marvelous tale of an empty-headed, gold digging girl and the unfortunate man she marries. Try to find an edition with the original ink drawings, which add much to the period flavor. Those familiar with Stowe only from Uncle Tom's Cabin will be amazed by her talent as a light humorist.

It will be found shocking to many African Americans (and educational for many Caucasians) to discover that Uncle Tom was the HERO of this classic novel, and not a "weakling" by any stretch of the imagination. "Uncle Tom", or its shorter form "Tom", has become a slanderous term within the African American community and implies a weak and Caucasian-controlled person, when in actuality Uncle Tom was a powerfully moral man who was willing to die for his convictions rather than succumb to the will of his worst oppressors. In fact, this book was credited by Abraham Lincoln himself as the catalyst that won his election on the abolition of slavery platform, and the resulting Civil War that followed. "Uncle Tom" became a negative slander one hundred years later only after Malcolm-X and the Black Muslims used it to slander Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who exemplified similar characteristics of strength and courage--from a similarly peaceful perspective--in his approach to the Civil Rights issue. As with the fictitious character Tom, Dr. King also died for his convictions without raising a hand against his oppressors. I highly recommend this book to people of all colors and races because of the lessons of self-sacrifice and courage it contains. Caucasian readers will hopefully learn of the pain and suffering of the slaves and gain a deeper compassion for its lingering legacy today. However, I especially recommend Uncle Tom's Cabin to African Americans, for contained in its pages are stories of love, compassion and courage--by both black & white--that will offset the painful legacy of that period caused by the suffering of so many. May the ignorance of the "Uncle Tom" slander be eradicated from their minds as they read of the courage of this fictitious character--who reminded others of Dr. King himself--and the other characters whose struggles and triumphs are contained in its pages also. I also recommend the books: No Apology Necessary, by Earl Carter, Let's Get to Know Each Other, by Tony Evans, and my own book, which is-- White Man in a Black Man's World (tm), by Richard Vermillion.

This version of Stowe's classic text includes reproductions of orginal historical documents at the back, literary criticism of the text, and some of the original illustrations. The book is well-made, stands up to the stress of reading (paper is thin but not too thin, like some anthologies).

As for the text-- this is the book that some say caused Abraham Lincoln to write the Emancipation Proclamation. An "Uncle Tom" has come to mean a black person who sells out to the white system-- but in so many ways, that is not at all what Uncle Tom does in the book. Stowe wrote the book to change what she saw as an unjust system, an evil system-- and at times, the text is very didactic (teacherly) and very preachy about religion. It's a fine "sentimental" book-- and a fine historical document. It's also a pretty good story. Yes, there are some places where we could just get a tooth ache from the syrup of the overly dramatized scenes (you'll see when you read about Little Eva). But it's a certain style of writing that accomplished Stowe's goal of getting the women who may not have owned slaves but who benefitted from the system (white, northern, wealthy ones) to realize the problems and move to CHANGE them.

Much of what people think about Uncle Tom's Cabin actually comes from the later "Tom shows" that travelled the country-- the minstrel reviews that were not very flattering either to blacks or to Stowe's original texts. Read the book that has everyone all stirred up and make your own judgements. You might not like it-- but don't let someone else make the decision for you.