An Amazing Chronicle

How someone with his hurdles had the fortitude to persevere and do what he needed to be free--secretly attain literacy, escape slavery and gain an international following--speaks to his genius. Yes, he had his grandiose moments, but wouldn't one require that, to achieve what he did? His scathing indictment of the United States' version of Christianity is completely apropos today, as is the gut-wrenching poem, "A Parody", at the end of the book.