Making Freedom: The Extraordinary Life of Venture Smith

Venture Smith, the subject of this biography, is just plain fascinating. The inclusion of the full text of his very early 1800s autobiography makes the book, but the editor's lengthy introduction is also well done and very approachable. The press is to be commended on the lavish illustrations. We can approach this as essential African-American history, but I suspect that many will find that his life story, showing as it does in his own words, the after-effects of traumatic events, captivating in and of itself regardless of race. The book is memorable, because Venture Smith has a personality and then some. This is a good quick read that will stay with you.

Making Friendship: The Extraordinary Life of Venture Smith is an amazing, in-depth biography of Venture Smith (1728-1805), a New England slave sold into slavery as a boy in Africa who worked for a quarter century, then purchased his own freedom and became a respectable and noted American citizen. Meticulously reconstructing Smith's life from years of research and documentation, Making Friendship stretches beyond Smith's life to touch upon the lives of his descendants. Smith's own 1978 narrative is also included in facsimile form, as are a proliferation of black-and-white photographs and illustrations. Highly recommended as a worthy addition to American biography shelves.