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beloved_bridget's review
fast-paced
read for a class about movie adaptations of books and I’m very interested to see how the movie drew from this book. because while the anecdotes are very fascinating, there’s not a lot of structure in the book itself.
I had no idea that she was so well known during the war, I kinda always figured she was someone that people only learned about later. very cool to see the letters from major generals mentioning her by name, idk
I had no idea that she was so well known during the war, I kinda always figured she was someone that people only learned about later. very cool to see the letters from major generals mentioning her by name, idk
baylaurels's review
informative
medium-paced
Sarah Bradford wrote two biographies of Tubman, with this being the latter. Because Tubman could not read or write, she tasked Bradford with sharing her story, and is quoted in the text, which was published within her lifetime. This is the closest we have to Tubman's actual words, HOWEVER it has inaccuracies and is responsible for misinformation that was repeated in future works.
Bradford's texts popularized a number of misconceptions about Tubman and the Underground Railroad such as the inaccurate number of a supposed 19 trips rescuing 300 people (in fact it was likely closer to 13 trips and 70 people), Tubman's birth year, and the fabrication of a $40k reward for her capture. It also contains uncensored usage of the N-word, depending on the edition you read. Do not take it as strictly fact, but it is an important part of the literary heritage of Tubman, and source of some information in later works.
I do recommend reading if you are trying to have a comprehensive understanding of Tubman, if you enjoy reading primary sources, or if you're writing an essay, but for the casual reader there are modern biographies that are much better. No star rating, as I recognize it's historical value, but take issue with enough aspects to not really want to give a blanket rating sans caveats.
Bradford's texts popularized a number of misconceptions about Tubman and the Underground Railroad such as the inaccurate number of a supposed 19 trips rescuing 300 people (in fact it was likely closer to 13 trips and 70 people), Tubman's birth year, and the fabrication of a $40k reward for her capture. It also contains uncensored usage of the N-word, depending on the edition you read. Do not take it as strictly fact, but it is an important part of the literary heritage of Tubman, and source of some information in later works.
I do recommend reading if you are trying to have a comprehensive understanding of Tubman, if you enjoy reading primary sources, or if you're writing an essay, but for the casual reader there are modern biographies that are much better. No star rating, as I recognize it's historical value, but take issue with enough aspects to not really want to give a blanket rating sans caveats.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Death
Uncensored use of the N-word (depending on edition). As this is a (basically) first hand account of Harriet Tubman's experience living in slavery, and includes related content such as violence and racism. She also describes the racism endured outside of her time in enslavement. Harriet also suffered from a severe head injury and lifelong epilepsy-like experiences afterwords, and some related ablesim is depicted.audrarussellwrites's review against another edition
3.0
While this book did highlight Harriet's life, I would have liked to read in more detail about her entire life and not have it glossed over. The author states that she rushed to write this book before leaving for a trip to Europe and that is very evident.
The scenes from Harriet Tubman's life are not in order, but they are no less poignant. I think one thing that truly annoys me is that you can feel that the author doesn't believe all that Harriet Tubman told her about the horrors she endure during slavery. The author also chose to gloss over that period stating that what she went through was too uncomfortable.
Harriet Tubman was small in stature but possessed a strength -- both physical and mental -- which defied logic and boggled the mind. Not only did she help the enslaved escape to freedom, but she was called "The General" because she led several successful raids during the Civil War, the most notable being the Combahee (pronounced Chumbee) River Raid. She was also a nurse during the war and a spy. This book only slightly alludes to those, but I have read other books that detail Harriet Tubman's roles in the war in more detail.
For all she went through, Harriet Tubman stated in this book that she believed deeply that some of these slaver owners would make it to heaven because they didn't know any better and were only doing what they were taught to do. That statement is a testament to her unshakable belief in God, one which, had that been me who endured those horrific circumstances, might not have believed there was a God at all.
Harriet Tubman was certainly a hero of this country and deserves more than just her face on the 20 dollar bill.
The scenes from Harriet Tubman's life are not in order, but they are no less poignant. I think one thing that truly annoys me is that you can feel that the author doesn't believe all that Harriet Tubman told her about the horrors she endure during slavery. The author also chose to gloss over that period stating that what she went through was too uncomfortable.
Harriet Tubman was small in stature but possessed a strength -- both physical and mental -- which defied logic and boggled the mind. Not only did she help the enslaved escape to freedom, but she was called "The General" because she led several successful raids during the Civil War, the most notable being the Combahee (pronounced Chumbee) River Raid. She was also a nurse during the war and a spy. This book only slightly alludes to those, but I have read other books that detail Harriet Tubman's roles in the war in more detail.
For all she went through, Harriet Tubman stated in this book that she believed deeply that some of these slaver owners would make it to heaven because they didn't know any better and were only doing what they were taught to do. That statement is a testament to her unshakable belief in God, one which, had that been me who endured those horrific circumstances, might not have believed there was a God at all.
Harriet Tubman was certainly a hero of this country and deserves more than just her face on the 20 dollar bill.
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