Check It Out

The Long Walk to Freedom: Runaway Slave Narratives, edited with introductions by Devon W. Carbado and Donald Weise. Beacon Press, 2012

Call no. New Books E 450 L83 2012

What interested me about this book is it's approach. Although we have other books in the collection providing information about the history of slavery in the United States, this book delves into the subject from a different angle. It not only provides excerpts from the narratives of well-known runaway slaves, but also lesser-known people.

Through these narratives the reader gets a more realistic understanding of the slave experience. The accounts reveal that some of our presumptions aren't true; the slaves are speaking directly for themselves without editing and interpretations, which allows the reader to be enlightened about a familiar subject in a new way.

This book is available for four-week check out with your SWC photo ID card.

Book review by Tanya Carr, SWC Librarian