I Was Born a Slave An Anthology of Classic Slave Narratives: 1849-1866

This volume includes astonishing tales of heroic slaves. One, born free, was kidnapped and enslaved for twelve years; one was experimented upon by a doctor to see how deep his black skin went; one disguised herself as a male slave-owner; one hid herself from a lustful master in a crawlspace for seven years; one delighted in playing cruel practical jokes; one went whaling to avoid being recaptured; and one led an armed posse to battle would be kidnappers.

Yuval Taylor is the coauthor of Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music and the editor of Growing Up in Slavery: Stories of Young Slaves as Told by Themselves.