The view that slavery could best be described by those who had themselves experienced it personally has found expression in several thousand commentaries; autobiographies; narratives; and interviews with those who "endured." Although most of these accounts appeared before the Civil War; more than one-third are the result of the ambitious efforts of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to interview surviving ex-slaves during the 1930s. The result of these efforts was the Slave Narrative Collection; a group of autobiographical accounts of former slaves that today stands as one of the most enduring and noteworthy achievements of the WPA. Compiled in seventeen states during the years 1936-38; the collection consists of more than two thousand interviews with former slaves; most of them first-person accounts of slave life and the respondents' own reactions to bondage. The interviews afforded aged ex-slaves an unparalleled opportunity to give their personal accounts of life under the "peculiar institution;" to describe in their own words what it felt like to be a slave in the United States.―Norman R. Yetman; American Memory; Library of CongressThis paperback edition of selected Alabama narratives is reprinted in facsimile from the typewritten pages of the interviewers; just as they were originally typed.
#1315468 in Books Arsenal Pulp Press 2016-10-18Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 11.30 x .50 x 9.10l; .0 #File Name: 1551526506112 pagesArsenal Pulp Press
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Extinguished BrillianceBy aron rowA brilliant mind; an award-winning mathematician and physicist; an eccentric who lived in his own world; the Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing was recognized for his genius and at the same time demonized for his sexual practices. This epic story of the heroic quest to decipher the German orders during World War II zooms in on the intrigues at Bletchley Hall and the numerous discouraging attempts to construct the ‘bombe’ that would ultimately decrypt the enemy code. Using classified data recently released; this graphic novel recounts the military pressures exerted on their code breakers; and the obstinacy of Turing; specifically; in pursuing his challenged line of thought. Translated from the original French; the dark; mournful colors used in the cartoon images project the melancholy plaguing this exceptional scientist. Floating through the drawings are projections of his desire for male companionship and lovers. Finally exposed as a homosexual; this war hero lost the protection of the war office; was labelled a sexual deviate by the civilian court and sentenced to undergo chemical castration. While still in his forties; Alan Turing took his own life. The illustrative snapshots along with short text explanations impart the sad; tragic biographic of a brilliant theorist who was humiliated and crushed by the prevailing ideology of his time. It’s a sad tale recounting how often we destroy anything or anyone that is different0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. "But my battlefield is here in this hut; and mathematics is my weapon"By STEPHEN PLETKOXXXXX“I wanted to find the ultimate secret. I defeated Enigma and decrypted a thousand keys…broke the code. Despite all I did; I was never able to figure out the mystery of the code that governed my life.â€The above is in the thought-bubbles found in one of the last panels of this graphic or “comic strip†account of Alan Turing’s (1912 to 1954) life. The drawings are by Eric Liberge who has authored or co-authored over thirty graphic novels in his native France. The thought-bubble text and end material text is by Arnaud Delalande who is the author of numerous graphic novels in France. It was translated into English by David Homel who; besides being a translator; is also a writer; journalist; and filmmaker.Alan Turing was the genius mathematician and logician (as well as a talented long distance-runner) asked by the British government to help decipher coded messages sent by Germany’s “Enigma†machines during World War 2 (1939 to 1945). The extraordinary work of Turing and his colleagues in Hut 8 built on the grounds of Bletchley Park (a manor in Buckinghamshire; England that was Britain’s codebreaking or cryptanalyst centre) saved countless lives and millions’ worth of British goods and merchandise.But at the same time; because of his sexuality; Turing was forced to live a tortured secret life due to an intolerant world.For James Bond fans; future Bond author Ian Fleming (1908 to 1964) makes an appearance in this book as well as does future Apple Inc. C.E.O. Steve Jobs.Turing today is widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence.This book has an untitled appendix with pictures. The section titles of this appendix are Steganography; Cryptography; Encryption; and The Enigma Revolution.I enjoyed this graphic novel immensely perhaps because of its graphic style. I learned quite a bit about the genius; Alan Turing.Finally; the only problem I had with this book is that it has no table of contents. Therefore I was surprised by discovering the informative appendix with excellent pictures. As well; I did not understand everything I read in the main graphic narrative and I found that this appendix answered many of my questions. Thus; I would recommend to potential readers to perhaps read this appendix first before tackling the main graphic narrative.In conclusion; this is an intimate graphic biography that presents “the extraordinary and tragic story of the legendary codebreaker†Alan Turing!!(First published in French 2015; English translation 2016; graphic biography; main narrative 90 pages; sources; the cryptography war; appendix)**** ½XXXXX1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. UnapologeticBy J. Edgar Mihelic; MBAThis is a nice little biography; focused on the time Turning was working as a code breaker (going deep enough into it that it was beyond my experience). There’s a bit about the childhood; but mostly it is about the work he did for His Majesty’s service in breaking the enigma code. But in the background and never apologized for is Turing’s homosexuality which led the same government to hound him to the point of suicide.Again; well done; but there is a bit of overplaying Turing’s one youthful attraction as a driver for his sexuality. I’m going to bet it was a bit more complicated than that. Maybe no enigma though. There was also what felt like a tacked-on page at the end about Apple computer - hoping to connect it to something more modern; perhaps.
