"Published in 1845, this autobiography details the life of the internationally famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass, from his birth into slavery in 1818 to his escape to the North in 1838; how he endured the daily physical and spiritural brutalities of his owners and drivers, how he learned to read and write, and how he grew into a man who could only live free or die." (pub)No pictures or illustrations. Ages 16 & up