Large format for easy reading. Classic work from one of the most prominent African-Americans of his time, and one of the most influential lecturers and authors in American history. Douglass was an African-American, born into slavery, who became an editor, orator, author, publisher, statesman and reformer. His most well-known work is his first autobiography which critics frequently attacked as inauthentic, not believing that a black man could have produced so eloquent a piece of literature. It was an immediate bestseller.