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Twelve Years a Slave – Enhanced Edition by Dr. Sue Eakin Based on a Lifetime Project. New Info, Images, Maps Paperback – Illustrated, September 20, 2017
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length362 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateSeptember 20, 2017
- Dimensions6 x 0.91 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100989794814
- ISBN-13978-0989794817
- Lexile measure1200L
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Product details
- Publisher : Eakin Films & Publishing; Enhanced ed. edition (September 20, 2017)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 362 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0989794814
- ISBN-13 : 978-0989794817
- Lexile measure : 1200L
- Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.91 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #997,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #686 in Historical Asian Biographies (Books)
- #1,070 in American Civil War Biographies (Books)
- #18,941 in Community & Culture Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Solomon Northup (1808–1857) was a free-born African American from Saratoga Springs, New York. In 1841, he was kidnapped and forced into slavery for twelve years. With the help of his family and his father’s former master, Northup ultimately won his freedom and took the traders who betrayed him to court. He is best known for his autobiographical account of his enslavement, Twelve Years a Slave.
DR. SUE EAKIN AND HER LIFETIME PROJECT -- "TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE"
Originally published in 1853, Twelve Years a Slave was lost to history by the early twentieth century, when it could not be located by libraries, stores or catalogues. Then a 12-year-old planter's daughter and avid reader in central Louisiana ‐ the future Dr. Sue Eakin ‐ discovered a dusty original copy of the narrative in a plantation home near the property where Solomon Northup was enslaved. The book would determine her life's path.
Dr. Eakin went on to write her master's thesis about Northup's story, and after decades of research, produced the first authenticated edition of the book in 1968. In 2007, at the age of 88, she completed her final definitive edition with over 100 pages of fascinating new information, never-before-published images and unique maps related to the story; our print book and e-book represent the first mass publication of her Enhanced Edition.
Along the way, Dr. Eakin authored over a dozen acclaimed history books and became an award-winning history professor, Hall of Fame journalist, local civil rights leader and internationally recognized authority on antebellum plantation life. Dr. Eakin's academic career spanned over two decades with intensive historical research supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Association of University Women, the LSU Foundation and others. She founded and directed the World Plantation Conferences featuring prominent scholars from around the world, served on the boards of many historical foundations, and delivered hundreds of speeches around the country regarding her research and unique perspectives. A popular classroom teacher, her travel courses in Louisiana, Southern and American history developed a large following and she was recognized as Distinguished Faculty of the LSU System and national Outstanding American History Professor by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
For more information on Dr. Eakin, including audio and video, please see our website at www.12YearsASlaveBook.com
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the historical details and educational facts that provide valuable insights into slavery. The story is described as compelling, heartbreaking, and harrowing. Readers appreciate the vivid imagery and footnotes that enhance the reading experience. The book provides an eye-opening look into what life was like for slaves in the South in the 1800s. Overall, customers find the character development insightful and well-crafted.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book readable and well-told. They appreciate the compelling writing, understandable verbiage, and evenhanded treatment of whites and blacks. The footnotes expand upon the text and confirm many of the details.
"...The movie was great with its accuracy and superb acting, but the book has a bonus feature...." Read more
"...(1850s) was an adjustment but I quickly got used to it and was able to read with ease. I enjoyed this book more than I expected...." Read more
"...loaded with historical features, annotations, and pictures that add tremendous depth and context to an amazing story, and is easily the best version..." Read more
"...Its straightforward, honest, unpretentious style details the inhumanity and brutality of slavery -- not in the third person as most of us read in..." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's informative content. They find it provides valuable insights into Solomon Northrup's life and experiences. The historical details are presented in a warm, reader-friendly manner. Readers appreciate the background information provided by the author.
"...I found it quite thought provoking in terms of how the things that happened 175 years ago continue to influence people and our culture and our..." Read more
"...For just a dollar the Eakin "enhanced version" is absolutely loaded with historical features, annotations, and pictures that add tremendous depth..." Read more
"...honest, unpretentious style details the inhumanity and brutality of slavery -- not in the third person as most of us read in history books, but in..." Read more
"...The annotations by historian Sue Eakin though rich in historical detail and other educational facts are rather distracting and do not allow for..." Read more
Customers find the story compelling and heart-wrenching. They appreciate the straightforward narrative that makes the period seem real. The book provides detailed accounts of slavery's cruel aspects, providing a riveting look into the life of a free man.
"...offers up many years of research, insights and transcripts on the life of Soloman Northup both before and after he was returned to freedom...." Read more
"...This book was fascinating and grab s and holds the attention...." Read more
"...annotations, and pictures that add tremendous depth and context to an amazing story, and is easily the best version on Amazon...." Read more
"...strives to do justice to the book, the book is far more detailed and realistic...." Read more
Customers enjoy the vivid details and imagery in the book. They find the maps, pictures, and illustrations helpful in gaining a comprehensive understanding of slavery before the Civil War. The author's experience is recorded in detail with specifics, making it realistic and depicting what it was like to be black.
"..." is absolutely loaded with historical features, annotations, and pictures that add tremendous depth and context to an amazing story, and is easily..." Read more
"...Admittedly the film on its own was good. The picture was excellent and the directing was spot on and worthy of the acclaim it received...." Read more
"...Most of us know the story, but the detail touched me deeply...." Read more
"Compelling book that vividly descriptions of the life of a slave in the South in the 1850's...." Read more
Customers appreciate the footnotes in the book. They find the notes informative and insightful. The footnotes, references, photographs, and appendices provide additional context for the story.
"..."enhanced version" is absolutely loaded with historical features, annotations, and pictures that add tremendous depth and context to an amazing story..." Read more
"...I chose to get Eakin's annotated version, and I found the annotations to be well-researched, factual rather than opinionated..." Read more
"...half of the Kindle book, and the remainder consists of the notes, references, photographs and appendices compiled by Sue Eakin during her lifetime..." Read more
"...The footnotes were really helpful too...." Read more
Customers find the book provides a good look into what was going on during slavery. They appreciate the rich detail and clear language.
"...Its straightforward, honest, unpretentious style details the inhumanity and brutality of slavery -- not in the third person as most of us read in..." Read more
"...In rich and stunning detail and incredibly clear language, Solomon Northrup tells the tale of his capture and forced enslavement for 12 years,..." Read more
"...It's not a pretty account of what happened to him and how he suffered, but his fiddle playing gave him his greatest comfort and he wrote that he..." Read more
"...Style is simple, verbiage is archaic but understandable . The subject matter, slavery, is well defined in this book, as are it's consequences...." Read more
Customers appreciate the character development in the book. They find it better than the movie, showing a diversity of human characters from honest to evil. The book highlights the best and worst of humanity, contrasting brutality with morality. Readers also appreciate the historical information on characters, locations, and acceptance of diversity in our midst.
"...how far our country has come in abolishing slavery and accepting diversity in our midst...." Read more
"...It shows the diversity of mans characteristics from being a man of honesty to one of pure evil...." Read more
"...It astounds me ...man's inhumanity to man. No wonder a war was fought over this problem! But it is factual...." Read more
"...the evils of slavery; it's brutality and inhumanity, countered with character and morality amid an inescapable tradition...." Read more
Customers find the book gripping and emotional, describing it as a quick read that tears at their hearts. They say it conveys the hopelessness and frustration of the slaves. However, others find the narrative harsh and brutal, saying it's an uncomfortable read.
"Do to the language norms of when it was written, this book feels a little restrained and understated. But, that does not mean it isn’t powerful...." Read more
"...Fundamentally it's a well-written book because I think it conveys the hopelessness and frustration of the slave even better than the movie, and..." Read more
"...The horrifying violence and demeaning nature of slavery through the recorded words of the man who experienced it for twelve years strikes strongly..." Read more
"A page-turner to the end, yet often painful to read because of the cruelty of Solomon Northup's "owners," except for one...." Read more
Reviews with images
Schools can't teach what this man endured as a slave.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2014As most people know, your ancestry has a lot to do with who you are as a person. Teachings get passed down and experiences get shared. It all has an impact on your outlooks on life. Although we all have our own individuality as human beings, you can see how a historical background can affect how you walk through this life experience. It cannot be helped. This book is a very powerful look into the life of only one man, but he represents so many. Anyone who is of a color that is not black should read this. If you have a heart that doesn't understand the black experience fully as it has progressed in the world, especially where the abhorrent "owning of human beings" is concerned, you need to read this one (or at the very least, see the movie). You many say, it isn't only African Americans who have been slaves. Yes this is correct, but it doesn't diminish the importance of the knowledge and understanding that reading this book will offer. (Can you imagine being bought and sold and losing a child through a sale? A wife? A husband, a friend, a brother or sister? Wondering forever after what happened to that person you loved with all your heart?)
The movie was great with its accuracy and superb acting, but the book has a bonus feature. The author offers up many years of research, insights and transcripts on the life of Soloman Northup both before and after he was returned to freedom. This was of great interest as it had an outside view of who he was as a person and speculations about his own personal frailties. His wife and children were followed a bit too. It would have been nice to see some real life interviews with them, but it was quite a ways in the past and most of the information was in public record, court transcripts, newspaper articles and genealogical offerings from descendants. This made for reading that was a little dry and repetitious (court documents) at times, but interesting nonetheless.
The hard fact is, was and remains, that it is never OK to buy and sell human beings for any reason. There is no justification for it. This book is a tearful and 'grit your teeth' snapshot of American history at its most appalling. We as a people have truly made horrendous mistakes.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2014Initially the writing style (1850s) was an adjustment but I quickly got used to it and was able to read with ease. I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I seldom go to movies but often read the books upon which they are based. This book was fascinating and grab s and holds the attention. I found it quite thought provoking in terms of how the things that happened 175 years ago continue to influence people and our culture and our nation today. I found the commentary and research part at the back of the book to be rather boring and not at all succinct. My attention lagged there.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2013If you were, like me, looking to read Twelve Years a Slave and were looking through the various Kindle versions of the book, stop right here -- you've found the version you want. For just a dollar the Eakin "enhanced version" is absolutely loaded with historical features, annotations, and pictures that add tremendous depth and context to an amazing story, and is easily the best version on Amazon.
The Northup book itself is, of course, marvelous. As slave stories go, this one is, in my view, without peer. Northup's s captivating tale -- which has gained attention because of the movie that shares the book's title -- is told in exacting detail with an easy prose. He sets the stage masterfully, describing people and places before proceeding into the narrative. Unlike works of fiction, this book is so compelling because, by all accounts, it is true. There is no polemical axe to grind, as with Uncle Tom (a novel at one point wryly referenced by Northup). Here you see both the brutality of slavery and the moments of kindness by slaves and even some slave owners. Solomon tells the story with clarity and intelligence.
Because Twelve Years a Slave is in the public domain, I initially searched for free copies elsewhere. Unfortunately, the free versions I found on other sites were pretty badly formatted, so spending a dollar for a polished version on Amazon proved worthwhile. That said, while most of the Amazon versions are while noticeably cleaner than the free site versions, nearly all of the Amazon entries are barebones versions with no extra material, and most of their introductions, such as they are, are done by novelists or movie producers. That's fine, but at the end of the day they're not historians.
Sue Eakin is. As a scholar who devoted her life to Northup's story, she fills in the gaps in a way that is honest and easy to follow. She traces Northup's life before the book, brings outside contemporary sources into the picture, and, most interestingly, discusses the mystery behind Northup's life after the book. All of this is done via footnotes and appendices, meaning that they are there if you want them but don't interfere with the book proper. As if that's not enough, the e-book has a website full of great pictures of everything from Epps's house to the ship's manifest that has Northup's slave name on it.
It's hard to go wrong with this edition, especially given that it is currently priced the same as the other, far more basic, editions on Amazon. Highly recommended.
Top reviews from other countries
- Dorinne HewittReviewed in Canada on July 16, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Very good reading Tells what hardships and cruelity the colored PEOPLE endured.
- Alexandre LacerdaReviewed in Brazil on May 18, 2015
4.0 out of 5 stars Great historical insight about slavery
Shocking narrative about the slave's everyday life, with all its cruelty, unjutisce, sadness, and strength. Great story that is at the same time informative, compelling, and inspiring.
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TizianaReviewed in Italy on December 13, 2014
5.0 out of 5 stars Letto in 2 giorni
Mi era piaciuto il film e per questo ho acquistato il libro che si è rivelato ancora più bello del film. Avvincente e molto ben scritto.
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HelverReviewed in France on March 31, 2014
4.0 out of 5 stars Très intéressant!
Un anglais classique et donc facile à lire, une histoire intéressante et surprenante....
Un très bon livre, vraiment!
Je recommande.
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REINHARD PLATEReviewed in Germany on March 7, 2014
5.0 out of 5 stars 12 years a slave
Ich habe den Film gesehen; das Buch ist eine wunderbare Ergänzung zum umfassenden Verständnis der Sklaverei in den Südstaaten der USA vor dem Bürgerkrieg.
Und wenn man beim Film mitleidet und in Tränen ausbricht,so tut man das beim Lesen des Buches ebenso
.Die authentische Sprache Salamon Northups hilft noch mehr sich in das Wohl und Wehe der unseligen Sklaverei hineinzuversetzen.