My Bondage and My Freedom

&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RMy Bondage and My Freedom&&L/I&&R, by &&LB&&RFrederick Douglass&&L/B&&R, is part of the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&Rseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R: &&LDIV&&R New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the readers viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/I&&Rpulls together a constellation of influences―biographical, historical, and literary―to enrich each readers understanding of these enduring works.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&R &&L/P&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&RBorn a slave, &&LB&&RFrederick Douglas&&L/B&&R educated himself, escaped, and became one of the greatest social leaders in American history. Although usually identified with the monumental &&LI&&RNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave&&L/I&&R, Douglass produced two additional autobiographies, the second of which he called &&LI&&RMy Bondage and My Freedom&&L/I&&R. &&LBR&&R&&LBR&&RA richer, deeper, and far more ambiguous work than the earlier &&LI&&RNarrative&&L/I&&R, &&LI&&RMy Bondage and My Freedom&&L/I&&R reveals Douglass’s increased intellectual sophistication and maturity. In the decade that had elapsed since Douglass wrote&&LI&&R Narrative&&L/I&&R, he had broken away from his antislavery mentors, successfully toured England, and established himself as an inspired speaker and writer. With the publication of &&LI&&RMy Bondage and My Freedom&&L/I&&R in 1855, Douglass became the country’s foremost spokesman for American blacks―free and enslaved―during the tense and politically charged years preceding the Civil War.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&ROne of the highlights of &&LI&&RMy Bondage and My Freedom&&L/I&&R is the appendix, which contains excerpts from several of Douglass’s speeches, including perhaps his most famous, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”&&LBR&&R&&L/P&&R&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&&R&&LSTRONG&&RBrent Hayes Edwards&&L/B&&R&&L/B&&R is Associate Professor in the Department of English at Rutgers University. He is the author of &&LI&&RThe Practice of Diaspora: Literature, Translation, and the Rise of Black Internationalism&&L/I&&R (Harvard University Press, 2003) and of numerous articles on twentieth-century African-American literature, contemporary poetry, Francophone Caribbean literature, surrealism, and jazz. &&L/P&&R&&L/DIV&&R