Born into slavery on a Maryland plantation, John Thompson spent the first twenty-five years of his life in bondage before escaping to the North. His fear of recapture drove him to a soul-searching new chapter of his life. He joined the crew of the Milwood, a whaling vessel on which Thompson would spend more than two years working and traveling the world.
In this unique slave narrative, Thompson not only explores the brutal realities of the antebellum South but also provides a transcendent spiritual accounting of his own internal life. A testament to the resiliency of the human spirit and the powers of faith, The Life of John Thompson, a Fugitive Slave is a singular chronicle of the African American experience.
Revised edition: Previously published as The Life of John Thompson, a Fugitive Slave, this edition of The Life of John Thompson, a Fugitive Slave (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.