I Was Born A Slave - An Anthology Of Classic Slave Narratives Volume 2 - 1849-1866

I Was Born a Slave – An Anthology of Classic Slave Narratives, Volume 2: 1849–1866 (1999) by Yuval Taylor (Payback Press), ISBN: 9780862419042 — Condition: Fine — as sold by Crappy Old Books

Some books don’t just tell stories—they open doors into history, voices, and lived experience that can’t be forgotten. I Was Born a Slave – Volume 2 is one such book. Edited by Yuval Taylor and published by Payback Press in 1999, this hefty anthology gathers firsthand accounts from enslaved men and women during the crucial years 1849–1866: a period spanning the collapse of the old system, the eruption of the Civil War, and the messy dawn of freedom.

Inside are narratives that are raw, eloquent, painful, and defiant all at once. These are not abstract “texts” but testimonies: people writing their own lives into existence, countering a system that sought to erase them. You’ll meet authors who escaped, resisted, educated, and advocated—voices that resonate with urgency even 150 years later. Taylor’s editorial framing helps guide the reader, but it’s the power of the words themselves that carries the day.

This copy is in Fine condition—meaning the pages are crisp, the binding solid, the cover clean, and the only wear is the faint passage of time itself. No clumsy highlighting obscures the voices, no coffee rings stain the margins, and no mystery crumbs lurk between chapters. For a paperback that carries such weight, it’s almost miraculous.

And yes, it comes from Crappy Old Books, where the “crappy” is tongue-in-cheek and the treasures are very real. This isn’t just a book to read—it’s a book to reckon with, to keep, to revisit, and to share. Consider it less a collectible and more a conversation across centuries, preserved in unexpectedly Fine form.

History may not always be comfortable, but it’s rarely this vividly alive.

Keep browsing: See more History books Other books by Yuval Taylor