Summary and Review of The Fires of Jubilee

The Fires of Jubilee is a tragic and sad story written by an award winning author Stephen B. Oates. This is just one of the sixteen books he has written over the years. Stephen was born in 1936. He is a former professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is an expert in the 19th century United State history. In 1993 Oates received the Nevins- freemen award. The topic of the story is the life of Nat Turner. The purpose for writing the story was to explain how the rise shocked southern society and led to strict slave laws that would destroy the threat of an uprising. The layout and approach of the book is to tell the story of Nat who was a black christian who was trying to teach the word of god to his fellows salves. He was working to help the groups get through the hard times. He ran away for 30 days but came back to his master he was punished but they were still glad he returned. After he returned his slave owner passed away shortly after and he was sold for $400 to his new owners. His new slave owner was awful he had to do repair fences, feed the cows and much more. His days were long and never ending. He wanted freedom so bad but would just go back to reading the Bible.

On August 21, 1832 devastation broke out in Southampton County. The rebellion began with groups of slaves killing masters and their families. This went on for two days. Nat was found hiding in the woods with his group of slaves. He had not participated in the rebellion but was accused of it and was hung along with the others. The book helps explain the significance of religion in Africa by the slaves were still able to go to the bible even though they were living their worst life. They were still able to trust what the bible says. Nat heard “Seek ye the kingdom of heaven and all things shall be added unto you.” The book is very effective in many ways it makes everyone realize how much our world has changed over the years. How our world has overcome and grown in many ways. The book is rated 3.8 stars out of 5. Many of the reviews say “A must read to truly understand American History and its relationship with race.” I think the books fits on our class by making us understand slavery on the next level. Also since we do not learn this story in high school our professor wanted us to learn about it. The book was covered by the New York Times, goodreads.com, and many more.

In conclusion, I do think the book left a legacy and impact on the world today because slavery is one of the biggest concepts we learn about in school these days. This is a story that never should have ended in the way it did. In the end 60 whites were killed and 120 blacks the sad thing is we don't hear about this tragic story in schools. This book should have made a huge impact on the world yet you do not hear about it often. Everyone thought Nat was the leader of the rebellion but in reality he was hiding in the woods but was accused of being guilty and was hung with his friends he had known his whole life. The book does enhance our understanding of history but then again not all the way because reading this book makes you realize how bad things were. We are taught slavery was bad but I don’t think we understood the terrible conditions they underwent. This is a story that needs to be taught in high school because Nat deserves to be a legacy.