Product Description
Vividly recounting Washington's life--his childhood as a slave, struggle for education, founding and presidency of the Tuskegee Institute, and meetings with the country's leaders, this book reveals the conviction he held that the black man's salvation lay in education, industriousness and self-reliance.Amazon.com Review
Nineteenth-century African American businessman, activist, andeducator Booker Taliaferro Washington's Up from Slavery is oneof the greatest American autobiographies ever written. Its mantras ofblack economic empowerment, land ownership, and self-help inspiredgenerations of black leaders, including Marcus Garvey, ElijahMuhammad, Malcolm X, and Louis Farrakhan. In rags-to-riches fashion,Washington recounts his ascendance from early life as a mulatto slavein Virginia to a 34-year term as president of the influential,agriculturally based Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. From thatposition, Washington reigned as the most important leader of hispeople, with slogans like "cast down your buckets," which emphasizedvocational merit rather than the academic and political excellencechampioned by his contemporary rival W.E.B. Du Bois. Though manyconsidered him too accommodating to segregationists, Washington, as hesaid in his historic "Atlanta Compromise" speech of 1895, believedthat "political agitation alone would not save [the Negro]," and that"property, industry, skill, intelligence, and character" would provenecessary to black Americans' success. The potency of his philosophiesare alive today in the nationalist and conservative camps that composethe complex quilt of black American society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (75)

Great read
I read this book with my 12 year old as part of a book club.I didn't know much about Booker T. Washington,and this book was very interesting.He was truly a remarkable man living in a time of extreme change for our country.I feel I now have a broader view of the post slavery South then I had,even growing up there.

He Knew His Role and Performed It Well...
A fascinating read about the life and times of Booker T. Washington and his march from slavery to one of the foremost men of his time.

His views may seem quite antiquated in today's world, given what has happened and not happened in the last 100 years in race relations and it is easy to see how Black leaders of today might be critical of Washington's views and perspectives.

But to do so would be to make the all too common mistake of imprinting and transferring today's value system and experiences on a culture and time of long ago. Anyone can look back with 20-20 hindsight and criticize. What matters most is having a plan to move forward from where you are, and Booker T. Washington certainly had that. His is a remarkable story of courage, grace, and iron-willed determination, for himself and forhis race.

While today's leaders and purists might criticize Washington, it should never be forgotten that he took the first steps and led his race and the entire South in the first steps, no matter how imperfect they may be in hindsight, up and away from slavery.

There had to be a Booker T. Washington to bridge the gap between what was and what was to be.He knew his role and peformed it well.

My Hero
Up From Slavery Booker T. Washington has been one of my all-time favorite American heroes -- ever since I first read about him in 4th grade.Washington had a gift for writing, and his autobiography, as well as his essays, are very easy to read, understand, and enjoy.The more I study and learn about him, the more impressed I am with his vision, his integrity, and his drive to improve his people and their lot in life.

up from slavery
a good read with much information from the early america era. Booker T. Washington use the brain over violence and suceeded where others failed. excellent read.!!!!

No Less Than an American Classic!
What an outstanding autobiography regarding a true American heroe! This book details the triumphant acts of Booker T. Washington's efforts to not only develop the famous Tuskegee Institute, but to positively build bridges with America.A former slave who became a self taught, political mastermind came from the worst of what humanity had to offer to meeting and influencing American Presidents. What an honor it would have been to meet a man who provided so much to the African American man and woman. He was also willing and often did help southern whites in his community. It's ashame that in America, where education is offered legally, there is a 50% dropout rate among African American high school students. This man and his "cadres" fought for and provided educational opportunities in a country that treated them worst than second class citizens.This book should be a required reading in ALL schools, especially those predominantly filled with African Americans! ... Read more

Product Description
This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format.Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship. ... Read more

Product Description
This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format.Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Booker T(aliaferro) Washington, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 2526 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Product Description
This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format.Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Side of Booker T. That Most Don't See
Most people who have any familiarity of BTW have heard the oversimplified stereotype that he was supposedly an "Uncle Tom", etc. This shows the fallacy of that thinking. Here, BTW tells off the Governor of South Carolina in 1895 for cutting off funds for Black schools "if you think education is expensive-try ignorance!" and socks it to the Louisiana Legislature for allowing Blacks to be lynched "I heard a boy say "today I have seen a man hanged and I shall soon see one burned. Before I hear such a remark from one of my sons I would rather see him in his grave." read it, and you'll be surprised. ... Read more