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1Negro Explorer at the North Pole

By Matthew A. Henson

In this fascinating memoir, Matthew Henson describes the incredibly dangerous, exhausting, and bone-chilling trip to what was until then the never-before reached point on earth, the North Pole.<br /><br /> "Robert Peary is remembered as the intrepid explorer who successfully reached the North Pole in 1909. Far less celebrated is his companion, Matthew Henson, a black man from Maryland. Henson's gripping memoir, first published in 1912, tells this unsung hero's story in his own words. Henson...was indispensable to the famous explorer's journey; he learned the language of the Eskimos, was an expert dog-sled driver and even built the sleds...." (Publishers Weekly)<br /><br /> "An original document.... One of the giants of polar exploration, Henson had the graceful modesty of genuinely big men.... The world would know even more about him now if his commander, Peary, had been less an egotist and more generous in sharing credit for his discovery of the North Pole." (Washington Post Book World)<br /><br /> "A really valuable addition to the literature of [polar exploration].... Filled with incident, occupation, description, emotion, [and] comment." (The New York Times)

2Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself

By Josiah Henson

<i>The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself</i> is an autobiographical narrative given by Josiah Henson and written by Samuel Atkins Eliot. Henson's life story was the real-life inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's best-selling novel <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i>. During his life, Josiah Henson was a slave in Maryland where he was the overseer of his owner's modest, 300-acre farm. Through various life experiences (such as transporting slaves from MD to Kentucky, then later visiting those slaves after they'd been sold into the Deep South, and how run down they were; his owner agreeing to let him buy his freedom, only to hike up the price way beyond his means, etc.), unlike Uncle Tom, Josiah escapes with his family into Canada. Later he returns to help more slaves via the Underground Railroad. - Summary by progressingamerica and TriciaG