Book Description

Customer Reviews (7)

Historically Startling and Important
So often we find out how important a piece of text written hundreds of years ago can change the way the human species views the world as well as themselves.The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is such a novel.Not only does it show the harshness of human error, it also illuminates the strength and compassion that exists within all of us .I now realize how iggnorant I actually was before reading this novel.I had no idea that cruelty to slaves was so prominant in the northern part of the U.S during the early 1800s.The reader can feel the raw emotion radiating off this extraordinary women who faught so hard for racial and sexual equality.Sojouner(or Isabella) is so commited, she even fasted for three days just to improve herself spiritually.It is acts like this as well as the numerous occasions where she seeks to help others that will leave the reader in awe.I would suggest this book to any body interested in America's history and anybody who is looking for a little inspiration in their lives.This narrative is part of America's young yet vast history and should never be forgotten.

Historical reminder
Provided a valuable insight into some of the thinking of slaves even while experiencing inhumane treatment and searching for their own identity. A woman of courage, foresight and well ahead of her time.

Excellent
In a world that still suffers from the blight of slavery, mainly in Islamic nations and northern Africa, and Sudan, but also through the sex trade in nations like Thailand, this book is a great nonfiction account, especially for grade and middle schoolers, but also for all who think slavery is a thing of the past.

history hurts but is needed to know
I can never tire of learning the depts of suffering black woman had to endure.It gives me even more pride for my people and much hope for a better tomorrow.

let the truth be known
very much a must read
the way the wordsflow
with your thoughts
as if you were really there
to me it is a must read
nice book ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Review by Trish New, author of The Thrill of Hope and South State Street Journal
Her name was Isabella but her parents called her, Belle. Sojourner Truth is a story about a strong woman who demanded integrity. Slavery's long shadow cast over families rendered them helpless to save their own children who were sold, and powerless to save themselves from cruel and unkind treatment by the masters. Their lives were filled with heartbreak and suffering and the only times of relief were when they got together to sing mournful songs or cried out to their god to help them. Belle was one of the first black women in the country to win a court case. She won back her six-year-old son who was sold. She was free, but her four daughters were left in slavery. She took her son and went to New York to seek better opportunity and promised to send for them once they were freed at twenty-one years of age. Her son, Peter, had an obsession with taking things that did not belong to him and she needed to seek rehab for him. She was very tall and her feet wore size twelve shoe. She never owned a pair of shoes until she was an adult and hired a cobbler to custom make them. The book is a collection of data, rather than a mellifluous story, rife with names of people involved in the slavery issue, so that it is difficult to follow in many places. After Belle and Peter arrived in New York they found a Methodist Church where black people worshipped. There a brother and sister who had been sold away from her parents years ago found her. She found that one of the elders of the church whom she had worshipped with and who had passed away was another sister. Belle was taken in by a religious scheme and accused of murder. It took her three years to prove her innocence. Peter never rehabilitated and finally after being jailed numerous times his mother and a minister got him commissioned for duty on a ship at sea. He wrote letters but she never saw him again. In the 1830's New York was a center for the abolitionist movement and the management of the Underground Railroad. Slaves wanting to run away were contacted by a "conductor" who would give them directions to safe houses along the way until they were in a free state or Canada. Songs were used to pass code messages and the North Star was used as a guiding light. At forty-six, 1843, Belle changed her name to Sojourner Truth and went East which she thought was directions from God. She traveled to camp meetings speaking and singing and talking about the suffering of slavery. The simplicity of her language and the sincerity of her message, combined with the courage of her convictions made Sojourner a sought-after speaker. She was cautious of fanaticism and didn't like noise and commotion. Noted abolitionists were William Lloyd Garrison, publisher of The Liberator; Wendell Phillips, known as abolition's Golden Trumpet, and George Thompson, a noted British abolitionist. David Ruggles and William Sill have been credited with helping to free over 600 fugitives while serving on the Underground Railroad. Fifty thousand slaves escaped through this organization. Women's rights were also sought during this same timeframe. Sojourner was not educated, but Olive Gilbert wrote her biography and she sold it at meetings. The audiences changed drastically as a pro-slavery group called the Copperheads formed in the north. Her mission became dangerous, but she never gave up. She attended a woman's rights convention in Akron, Ohio where she gave a historical speech aimed at the pedants and hypocrites, combining her slavery experience with women's inequality and frequently reiterating, "Ain't I a woman?" The fugitive slave law was an obstacle to abolitionists to the point that some were preparing for war, but Sojourner did not want war. From 1851 to 1857 she spoke out for anti-slavery and women's rights. In 1853 she visited Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, written in 1852 as a response to the Fugitive Slave Act. By 1856 over two million copies had been sold. Sojourner retired at 60 in Harmonia, Michigan and was joined by two of her daughters and two grandchildren. At 62, she went back on the speaking tour, accompanied by her grandson, Sammy. There were at least two hundred slave uprisings between 1800 and 1859. John Brown was a radical abolitionist and after his trial and execution was hailed as martyr, a symbol of freedom. People sang "John Brown's Body" and later during the civil war Julia Ward Howe wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" to the music of "John Brown's Body." It was a personal favorite of Abraham Lincoln, who would be remembered as "the Emancipator." Sojourner visited with Lincoln and ask for an autograph for her "Book of Life," a scrapbook of her memoirs. She thanked him for doing so much for her race. The civil war was over April 9, 1965 and Lincoln was dead of an assassin's bullet six days later. At seventy, Sojourner worked for the war department at Freedman's Hospital. Susan B.Anthony devoted efforts to women's suffrage in 1869 after the fifteenth amendment was passed in 1868 and Sojourner teamed up with her. Black males were allowed to vote, but not females. They all died before women won the right in 1919. Sojourner's last cause was to travel with a petition for congress to sign a land grant proposal for the black people who had worked for no pay. Sammy grew ill with a fever and died before he was twenty-five. She never stopped mourning for him but continued to do occasional speaking and women's rights projects until her death at eighty-six.
Trish New, author of The Thrill of Hope and South State Street Journal.

A book...with a Twist!
A thrilling book that I was intrigued to read during my summer home for 2 weeks. The book takes a rather twist which im impressed how not many decided to put on their reviews.

It's a great more than a biography of a groovy... woman...but what's more is that it chronicles of not just one, but many courageous individuals battles against injustice... really!

There's an impressive ending which it has been posted before in this amazon review section.

Buy the book!!! Places to go, take a look in a reading rainbow!

Good
I liked this book because it took you through her whole life in chronological order. However, it was not very useful for the information I was looking for. It talks about her as a slave and an abolitionist, but it doesn't say much about her as a feminist. I would've been five stars if the author had given more on her and feminism.

Sojourner Truth, an Inspiring Lady.
This book starts out with the birth of Sojourner Truth and takes you all the way through her life.You learn about her as a slave, as a free woman, as a preacher, an abolitionist, and an activist for the rights of both blacks and woman.

I personally did not know much about Sojourner Truth, but I do now.

If you are looking for a great novel to entertain you or for something to keep you on the edge of your seat, then this book probably isn't what your looking for.If you want to learn about history and an inspiring lady than I would say pick up this book and read.There is nothing worng with knowledge and this book is a great way to learn.

Sojourner Truth Ain'tI a Woman
Sojouner Truth Ain't I a Woman takes place in the 1700's-1800's, about 300 years ago. This genre is non-fiction. If you like true stories then read this!
This story is about black people being slaves. Sojouner works for a family that beats her. She works for them for about 13 years. Then she gets sold again and the family tells her she can leave at 27 years (a year before she is suppose to.) The family says, "No you can't leave we changed our mind," when she was about to leave. They finally make a deal and say, "Okay, you can leave."

She knows she has no place to live and people invite her to live with them, but she has to work for them to get money. Then she leaves and tells stories of her life and people like the stories!

When I read this book, I thought to myself, I feel sorry for black people back then. I really loved this book so much! My opinion is if you are prejudiced then you should read this book, and that might change your mind. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Though she was born into slavery and subjected to physical and sexual abuse by her owners, Sojourner Truth, who eventually fled the South for the promise of the North, came to represent the power of individual strength and perseverance. She championed the disadvantaged--black in the South, women in the North--yet spent much of her free life with middle-class whites, who supported her, yet never failed to remind her that she was a second class citizen. Slowly, but surely, Sojourner climbed from beneath the weight of slavery, secured respect for herself, and utilized the distinction of her race to become not only a symbol for black women, but for the feminist movement as a whole.Book Description
Sojourner Truth--ex-slave and fiery abolitionist of the mid-nineteenth century, a figure of imposing physique, riveting preacher, and spellbinding singer who dazzled listeners with her wit and originality. Straight-talking and unsentimental, Truth became an early national symbol for strong black women--indeed, for all strong women. Like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, she is regarded as a radical of immense and enduring influence; yet, unlike them, what is remembered of her consists more of myth than of personality. Now in a masterful blend of scholarship and sympathetic understanding, eminent black historian Nell Irvin Painter goes beyond the myths, words, and photographs to uncover the life of a complex woman who was born into slavery and died a legend. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol
This book is an excellent review and account of this great woman's life. Although it is rather disjointed in areas--there is a basic sense of the many challenges that Ms. Truth encountered. I found that it gave me a basic sense of her sojourn and it helped fill in the gaps left with other books. It was the basic information for an academic presentation I needed to prepare for one of my doctoral courses.

Short and very readable book , but quite illuminating
For some reason, most Americans know, or think they know, quite a bit about the Civil War. But somehow the decades before the great drama of the 1860's are little known to most of us. It's almost as if everything between the Revolutionary War and the American Civil War happened under a cloud or in some shadowed universe that sends out very few signals to modern Americans.In reality, the country went through a time of near-chaos as competing political and religious movements battled for the minds and hearts of the American public.

Sojourner Truth, the subject of this biography, experienceda good bit of this social ferment, and the story of her life gives readers a good opportunity to get a grip on this very strange and fascinating period. The author starts with the odd fact that the name and face of Sojourner Truth became very well-known, yet the real story of her life was obscured by her status as a symbol of the Abolitionist movement. The real woman led a surpringly adventurous life, and she did it in the context of a society that supposedly kept slaves, women and rural poor people firmly in their pre-ordained place. The story of how a courageous girl named Katherine, born in slavery and poverty on a Dutch farm in rural New York state, became the free woman and independent thinker called Sojourner Truth, is worth reading for its own sake. But the book also sheds light on the wild side of American religious and intellectual life during her lifetime.While reading this book, I felt like I was really getting two books in one-I highly recommend this book!!

An incredible biography
Painter's biography is excellent.She puts Truth in perspective with thechallenges of her time.She sheds light on complicated relationships with noteable Abolishionists and with her own children.This book clearly presents the difficult life of one incredible woman who struggles to do her part to free all slaves, gain respect as a woman and be accepted as a human being.

SOJOURNER TRUTH A LIFE A SYMBOL
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.

A Nearly Perfect Book
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 ofa difficult life to document.We see Painter confront the challenges ofperforming biography.I found it a compelling literary device.On thefirst point, the book mixes biography with history and feminist criticism. This interdisciplinary focus produces a highly inviting book.Among othertopics, we find out about the details of slavery in the North, 19th centuryreligious cults, and the ways in which feminists and abolitionists of thetime exploited Truth for their own gain, as well as how this appropriationof "Truth" continues to the present.On this point, we learnmuch about contemporary feminism and culture and its need forheroes-especially African American female heroes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Narrative of Sojourner Truth
This book is an excellent biography. It goes a little further into the creases and crefices of the life of this great woman. I used it for a presentation in one of my doctoral courses and found it on a level that fit my needs.

Interesting...
I thought this book was written a little differently, but I also found it helpful. It was cool how Sojourner Truth's Book of Life was written inside of it along with a whole separate book. There was a lot of good information in it. I used this book for a school project and it worked out great. The book was useful and interesting to read because there are letters from people she knew that were written to her. I enjoyed reading this also recieved info from it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Sojourner Truth
I loved book Sojourner truth. And I think Sojourner it is the best book I have read! I think Sojourner Truth was a fearless characterSojourner Truth was a slave because she was black.One day Sojourner Truth escaped.The man found her but he could not get her.And when she grew up the man sold her son.SO they went to court and won! She alsohadgreat courage. Be sure to read this great book!

Great photographs and text reveal a different way of life.
I used this book with a first grade class during black history month.The text is understandable for young minds and the pictures are beautifully illustrated, easily keeping the attention of a young class.The only drawback is some of the language used to describe the whipping of slaves seemed harsh; caution should be used with sensitive children.Otherwise, this book is very helpful and perfect for use with the primary grades. ... Read more

Book Description
Sojourner Truth had a tough childhood. She was born a slave, and many of the families she worked for treated her poorly. But when she was finally freed, Sojourner used her life to teach others about women's rights and the power of freedom.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Beautiful Illustrations capture the bravery of Sojourner
Absolutely gorgeous illustrations capture the life struggles of Sojourner Truth.A wonderful picture book that will provide children with new insight into the life of a brave woman who sought to change America.

Kate Nicoll, MSW
... Read more

Product Description
One of the most important slave narratives of all time, "The Narrative of Sojourner Truth" tells the story of one African American woman who struggles against the bondages of slavery in the mid-1800s. With the strength of her spirituality, Truth overcomes many struggles in her life and goes on to become a leading abolitionist and champion of women\'s rights. An important historical document of the time of slavery in the United States, "The Narrative of Sojourner Truth" is a must read for anyone interested in that dark period of time in American history. ... Read more

Book Description
Rosa Park's refusal to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama, led to a boycott of public buses in 1955 that lasted 381 days! Read about the impactand contributions made by each of these leaders, innovators, and pioneers. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Born in 1797, and sold three times by the time she was 13 (and beatenmany more times), a tall young slave girl named Isabella grew in herdetermination to fight the evils of slavery and speak for human rights. At theage of 46, having been a free woman for 17 years, Isabella woke from a dreamtelling her she must travel the country, conveying to people what it meant to bea slave. On that day, Isabella renamed herself.

"It was as though the life she'd known up till then belonged tosomeone else. A new one was beginning. The old life had become a tale to tell, astory to bring freedom to others. Her old name belonged to her old life. Fromthat day on, she was never called Isabella again. Her name was SojournerTruth."

Customer Reviews (6)

A Story for All Times, All Races, All Ages
This is a wonderful book for all young men and women to read.The lessons it teaches, from being "the new kid", to "the foreign kid", to "the abandoned and abused kid" to being "the black kid" certainly ring as true today as they did in Sojourner Truth's Day.The author's passion for the subject, and the illustrators moving illustrations reach out and touch readers, and inspire them to look into their own lives to be certain they are helping to create a diverse society.In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King.This book would be a wonderful story for kids to act-out in class for Black History Month.The author certainly seems to know about race relations, and peace.I recommend this for all parents who want to raise children who see people with their hearts, and not their eyes. Who see no color, just the glorious traditions, rich heritage, tremendous courage, and incredible art that comes from being downtrodden for generations.

She could not be silenced
Many a young reader will be shocked by the opening page of this story about slavery in the U.S. For the auction block from which a 9-year-old girl was sold in 1806 was in Kingston, N.Y., not Alabama or Mississippi.

Isabella was sold only after a long day in which no bidders showed any interest--until the auctioneer threw in a flock of sheep. She was separated from her aged, ill parents, who were left to fend for themselves, having been worn out by cruel masters. Hell followed for Isabella, for her new master spoke English while she spoke Dutch--like most people in the Hudson valley. For not understanding, he whipped her so hard that her back bore the scars all the rest of her life.

She was sold to a tavern-keeper and, when she was 13, to a neighboring farmer named John Dumont. At 16, she was six feet tall and could do the work of any man. She was forced to wed, against her will, and bore four daughters and a son. In 1817, New York enacted a law that would free all slaves on July 4, 1827. By then, Isabella was 28. But when Dumont reneged on his promise to free her, she ran to a nearby farm, believing that its abolitionist owners would save her. The Van Wageners bought and freed her.

Dumont, however, sold her son Peter to an Alabama plantation owner. To sell a slave out-of-state was then illegal in New York. Isabella took the unheard-of step of hiring a white lawyer to plead a court case for the return of her son. She won, he returned, she sent him to school, and he became a sailor on a whaling ship.

After Peter left, Isabella dreamed that she should travel the U.S. and tell people of her bondage. She took the name of Sojourner Truth. The final pages of this adventure tell some of the accomplishments of this American heroine. The illustrations greatly compliment the story, accentuating the iron will of a woman who would not be bought, or silenced.

The book concludes with a one-page author's note and a chronology of the events of Sojourner Truth's life. In the former, the author writes of those times when evil rules, and good people feel called upon to tell the truth to those who do not wish to hear.

Sojourner Truth was such a person, and she lived in such a time. Children find this story inspirational. Alyssa A. Lappen

The story of a real fighter for freedom
"Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth" combines text by Anne Rockwell with illlustrations by R. Gregory Christie. Together they tell the story of Truth, who was an important figure in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States. The text discusses her own life in slavery, how she gained her freedom, and her participation in the abolitionist movement. The book includes a chronology of her life.

The illustrations are colorful and striking, but Christie's human figures are bizarrely distorted, with out-of-proportion heads, limbs, and hands. Ultimately I found that this style distracted me from the important story being told. Still, this book is a worthwhile look at an important figure in American history.

The Voice of Freedom.....
Anne Rockwell's moving picture book biography of Sojourner Truth is a powerful and evocative story that will draw youngsters in and take them on a journey toward freedom with an amazing woman.Born into slavery, Isabella was taken away from her parents when she was only nine, sold three times, threatened, beaten and lost her own children to slavery before she was finally freed.Though she never learned to read or write, shechallenged the system of buying and selling people in court, traveled around the country, spoke out against slavery and became one of the most powerful voices in the abolitionist movement.She was a sojourner, one who is only passing through and her mission was to speak the truth about the evils of slavery..... Ms Rockwell's passionate and eloquently written biography is complemented by Gregory Christie's beautifully rich paintings and together they've authored a story about this remarkable woman that's full of courage and strength.With an author's note and timeline at the end to augment and enhance discussions, Only Passing Through is a wonderful book, perfect for youngsters 9-12 and a story few will soon forget.

review on only passing through: the story of sojourner truth
I think this is a wonderful book.I have not read it but even the title pulls you in.The reason I am writing about this book is because I love slave stories.I have read other books by this author and I think she is awesome.This book is on my wish list and i hope to get it soon ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

SOJOURNERTRUTH,ABLESSINGTOGENERATIONS
Gwenyth Swain's thoughtful new book "Sojourner Truth" is for beginner readers. It seems appropriate that children learning to read be paired with stories of those who lived so courageously.

Isabelle was born probably in 1799 to slave parents who were owned by Dutch New Yorkers. She did not learn to read until she became free some 29-30 years later. "Bell" suffered the indignities of being sold over & over, but grew tall and formidable. She worked hard at tasks better suited to men, yet endured many beatings. Her yearning for freedom led her to run away:

"She wouldn't wait for Master to free her.
She wouldn't wait for the State of New York to free her.
Before Master awoke, Bell slipped away.
She found freedom."

And, oh, what she did with it! She gave herself the name SOJOURNER TRUTH because she believed that God had called her to preach against slavery & to bring equality to women. She traveled "up an' down the land" speaking out for Freedom & Truth. In 1850 she published her own story: "Narrative of Sojourner Truth"! She died in 1883.

Gwenyth Swain's prose has a fluidity that is poetic in telling about a woman who was frequently wronged but spoke in a strong voice of "an even stronger faith." An author who has also written about the 'president of the underground railroad' Levi Coffin, and Mary Church Terrell, an early civil rights activist, her website is a popular destination . . . especially early each month when a different *free book* is announced.

Reviewer mcHAIKU echoes Gwenyth Swain who wrote that "Sojourner Truth was an unstoppable inspiration to people . . . in her time & ever since."
... Read more

Book Description
What do you do when you don't have a home or a family to call your own anymore?

Eleven-year-old Abigail is not entirely sure how she'll find it, but after losing her mother to smallpox and her father to the sea, she knows that it is up to her to build a new life for herself and her little brother, Seth. But carving a future out of the harsh realities of life in Wiscasset, a nineteenth-century Maine seaport, proves difficult, and Abigail fears that there will always be more questions than answers. How long will they be able to stay and work for the young Widow Chase? Will Seth be able to let go of the past?

As the months roll by like waves on the sea, Abigail searches tirelessly for a solution and for an answer to the question she holds most dear: Will they ever find a place to call home again?

... Read more

Book Description
Note: This version was dictated by Sojourner Truth; and edited by Olive Gilbert. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Powerful and Amazing
The story of an African American woman who is a freed slave is powerful and amazing, and the speech is commanding.This book gives pictures and background information and would be a valuable resource for elementary on up because it includes the speech and significant background material.To further engage learners, the teacher could ask students to write an updated folktale or a story based on the information presented in this book.The teacher may want to create a chart of example dialog during history from different time periods and peoples.The class can compare use and style of language from these traditions and language differences today and practice saying the dialog aloud in the different styles.This activity may prompt discussion about different ways of speaking English. ... Read more

Product Description
This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader better understand Sojourner's unique place in history.Born a slave in New York State around 1797 and given the name Isabella Baumfree, Sojourner Truth soon believed that God wanted her to be a traveling preacher who always spoke the Truth. She was sold three times early in her life; her third owner promised her freedom, but then went back on his word. A short time after this incident, Sojourner simply walked away to freedom. She followed her calling and traveled the country, speaking to large, and sometimes hostile crowds. After years of giving speeches, she had become one of the most influential African-American women of the nineteenth century, but unable to write her memoirs herself, Sojourner dictated her Narrative to Olive Gilbert, a white abolitionist. They were published in 1850 and are an inspirational account of this extraordinary woman's journey through life. Sojourner Truth became a passionate leader and legendary figure in American history by challenging the social and legal barriers that oppressed both women and African-Americans at that time. Although she was illiterate, she used her innate intelligence, faith in God, and sheer determination to fight against slavery and to promote women's rights. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Narrative of Soujourner Truth
I was pleased to add a resonable priced and wonderful quality volume to update our classic section in our library. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Just as I expected!
I received the book even faster than I thought I would.It is in great shape as described.

The material in the book is very knowledgeable and is good reading.
Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others (Thrift Edition)

Africa Receives Them Back.
This book was bought for a missionary in the rain forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for his schools. The schools are for the Batwa pygmy students. Their tribe in recent times was dominated by the Ekonda Master tribe. Now they are schooled together. This is for their English and History classes and their library.

The missionary who started the schools through Mission Pendjua, Dr. Jerry Galloway MD, feels this book will be a powerful influence and also give them the insight into the American expression of being an African American.

In a sense, "what comes round goes round" and this book and it's information and hope are being returned to Africa. It is powerful to realize that generations later, these authors and speakers are leading the way for the coming changes of the African continent.

Joyce M. Grubbs

best readings
this is a book that will give you insight into a lot of issues.

Great Speeches by African Americans
Interesting accounts of historic figures in african american history as displaced in the memorable speeches. Gives insight into the thinking and beliefs of some the great african american leaders of past and present times. If you are a historican of african american leaders or an avid reader, I would strongly recommend reading this book. ... Read more

Book Description

"This first-rate biography presents us with a heroine considerably more interesting--more original, more powerful—than the personality sentimentalists have often portrayed."
—The New Yorker

"Mabee chronicles Truth's life with restrained passion, refusing to fall into the traps of history by accepting what has merely been repeated...It is impressive in its depth, sparking a new interest in the woman being unveiled--a woman so many of us thought we already knew."
—The Boston Globe

"I am particulary impressed with the extremely high quality of the primary research and with the presentation of specific historical evidence on areas of Truth's life. . . . that have been mythologized by other writers.The book is obviously the result of years of careful and laborious sifting through antislavery newspapers and memoirs of Truth's activist associates. . . . [and] makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this woman's public life and her relationship to the reform movements of nineteenth-century America.Equally important, in a tempered and reasoned way, it presents us with an object lesson in how political movements (perhaps necessarily) attempt to appropriate. . . .historical hero figures for their own purposes.

Book Description
People need inspiration like never before-stories of legendary, faith-filled heroes who met amazing obstacles with courage, perseverance, and even joy. . .stories of godly men and women who changed the world. Barbour's retooled Heroes of the Faith series is back with additional titles-compelling, easy-to-read biographies of missionaries, evangelists, and others who made their mark for Christ beyond the walls of the church. Adults and adolescents alike will be inspired by the commitment, sacrifice, and wisdom of these great Christian leaders. Heroes of the Faith-the name says it all! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Former Slave, activistand Rosa Parks prototype.
A 2007 Summer Reading List - mini review.

I had placed a book about Sojourner Truth (not this one) on my daughter's summer reading list.Sunday I passed by our Church's book cart/library and was perusing the biography section when I came across this book.Now, I knew nothing about Ms. Truth when I placed it on the reading list and thoughtit would not be a bad idea to acquaint myself with her life.I am so very glad I did.

Sojourner Truth's life gave her every right to be bitter. However, the love of Christ motivated her to have compassion, rather than bitterness, and still be a firey opponent to slavery.My favorite part of the book is the stories of her assertion of her rights to ride the street cars in Washinton D.C. ... Read more

Book Description
A compelling account of the life and labor of an abolitionist, feminist, and millennialist, Narrative of Sojourner Truth tells the story of a moral leader and freed slave in nineteenth century America. As dictated through the pen of a white female abolitionist, Sojourner Truth details a slave narrative and moral biography. She transforms herself from Isabella, freed slave, to Sojourner Truth, voice for women, blacks, and all those who believe in human freedom, and becomes one of the most important voices of the nineteenth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Social inequalities in Sojourner's time - 2002
My daughter at the age of 7 won 1st place in a speaker's contest.
He topic was excerpts from the "Narratives of Sojourner Truth" whose famous talk given at a Suffragettes meeting brought the eloquent discussion to a halt.The women ignored Sojourner's presence. They thought that they were speaking authentically on behalf of slaves women in their communities. Sojourner Truth using modern psychology "Ain't I a Woman Too" stopped the privileged womens' debates, cold, and brought the meeting to an abrupt halt.The effrontery of this "coloured woman!" They knew who she was, they knew she was there but they refused to let her have equal opportunity to join the discussions, or to speak on behalf of herself and those for whom it meant so much.The liberation of Women of all colours.This pattern of injustice or subjected placements of Black Women have not shifted since the Venus sign was discovered as the symbol for all women stuggles.Black Women still struggle to be recovered from "you do not exist syndromes." As a black woman who have sat on many Women's Committees in Canada.Sojourner Truth's story is my story. ... Read more