12 Years A Slave

I read 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup with some trepidation, having some knowledge of the story and wary of the horrors within.  It is the personal account of the author's life during the mid-1850s in America's south.  This is an important story documenting the author's kidnapping and sale into slavery.  Northup was born a free man but was duped into travelling with unscrupulous men who profited from his sale.  The stories of life on the cotton plantations overseen by ruthless owners is heartbreaking.  The desperation the slaves endured is hard to read.  The author's elation at being freed is tempered by knowledge of the plight of the slaves he has left behind.  41/2/5