This isn't really the most engaging book ever, the content in a vacuum is dry and bland and yet
the context of this book beyond it's pages gives it so much weight. There are really only about
a hundred pages here that are Zora Neale Hurston's original manuscript. The rest of the book is
supplemental information compiled and composed by some very talented people, including Deborah
C. Plant who made invaluable contributions to this publishing. It's truly amazing that this
incredible folkloric work by Zora Neale Hurston was able to, after more than ninety years, find
a publisher.
As for the original piece by Hurston (presented in full with very conservative editing) it is a
one of a kind account that needed to be published today, yesterday or tomorrow so long as this
story makes it out of the archives and into the hands of people everywhere. As Hurston herself
puts it, in so many words, in the centuries of the Slave trade millions of humans were
trafficked and yet all of the accounts (excluding a handful) are from the traffickers and not
from the trafficked. Millions of people sold into slavery and Hurston (and a few others) had the
foresight to realize that one of those people needed their words put to paper before the
opportunity was gone forever. The accounts from Cudjo Lewis were eye opening for Hurston and
will most likely be for anyone to a certain degree, they certainly were for me.
The supplemental information contained in this publishing gives great context to the original
manuscript and serves to bolster the feeling of sheer improbability that Lewis' words would ever
make it into book stores and libraries around the country. How close we were to losing this
man's words forever just as we lost the words of millions of other humans who suffered a similar
fate. The additional content is maybe more interesting overall than the manuscript and should
not be skipped over in the slightest. Do yourself a favor and read every single millimeter of
this book.
