The Blind African Slave: Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography)

Excellent tale about slavery proud to be a descendent of this great man

A sailor grabs the African slave author's face like a man does a horse to open his mouth to look at his age by his teeth and gums. You think that is bad, Nah, try the sailor spits a wad of chewed up tobacco down his throat!Telephone bill bothering you? Nah, try cutting your hand wide open cleaning cod and then your mean ass slave master busts a hard oak chair across your back! As rough as that is to read the enjoyable opposite happens when later he joins the American Revolution (Yes the very one that won you the right to write what ever you want in a book review such as right here and now) in exchange for freedom and he is attacked on winter patrol in Hackensack New Jersey,(Yes, that New Jersey before the Sopranos) grabs the horse of the British Light Infantryman trying to shoot him and stab him escapes toward the American lines with British patrol in close pursuit. At American lines they recognize him (Yes because they recognize him for the obvious reason as the author wittily says) and the American officer yells "Dont shoot" which you know they do and the description of the musket balls going past his head, through his coat, and into the four English soldiers just about to get him! American history right in your face! Very moving. A movie is in this book, but first see the movie in your head. Read the book first written in 1810.Now reprinted for the first time. Scholarly introduction, history, notes, Photos of the 1810 First Edition, and then the text. Color does not matter here, but a heart does.

I purchased this book after a chance encounter with its editor, Kari Winter, in a small Vermont Library. The conversation showed her strong connection to the material and keen interest to get the story of Boyrereau Brinch, later known as Jeffrey Brace, out to the world at large. It is certainly not an easy read - either for challenging and potentially upsetting content, as well as the sheer quantity of material included in the book. It is a vivid description of the American slave trade and the horrors once considered normal in our society - even in New England. You will re-read sections out of shock, out of an interest or effort to understand, or to just absorb all the detail offered. Ms. Winter adds a depth of detail and knowledge in her editing of the work - filling in the many missing fragments to make the story whole. It is a history worth knowing and a book worth owning.

This is my family's story , and its so powerful

This is a VERY good book for any student of African American slavery studies, and in general Ethnic Studies.

very satisfied with my purchases. Best prices. Prompt service. As advertised.

The book I recieved was not a hardcover.

I am from Vermont and this is the beginning of my family in Vermont! My grandmother was a Brace, and we are still here! Wish I could message the other reviewer to find out the connection between us! I love finding all of this out from talking to my grandmother, but am excited to see it myself too.