Jubilee (50th Anniversary Edition)

This novel was first published in 1966. It remains relevant on an important level. It opened my eyes in a very specific way. As a reader, I was able to feel the unease that was part of daily life for the main characters. The story follows a woman who is half black, half white, as she lives through slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. I've read many stories set in this time period, some written by black authors and some by white authors. None of those novels, not even Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad, incorporated that sense of unease on such an integral, elemental, and strong level.Looking over your shoulder all the time remains a fact of life today for anyone who is in a helpless or minority situation. Right now, an important focus is on being black in America. But that unease is also being felt by millions of people still living in slavery in America and around the world; by persecuted Christians experiencing genocide in certain parts of the world; and by others whose plights are unknown to those of us in the West.Along with its unease, Jubilee incorporates notes of hope, faith, and perserverence. Those are important messages for us all.

This is one of the best historical novels I've ever read -- and it's based on the true story of the author's own great-grandmother. It's an engrossing and superbly well-told story, all the more unforgettable because it really happened. I'm just distressed that somehow I had never heard of it until recently. This book deserves to be familiar to every American, to be at least as well-known and widely read as classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird. It should appear on any list of Top 100 American Novels.

I first read this book 48 years ago for an English class when I was in junior high school. The class was called Reading of Novels. I enjoyed the book immensely. I re-read this book when my daughter read it when she was in high school. I couldn't resist purchasing this 50th edition to read yet once again. Part of the story takes place in Lee County, GA. My maternal grandparents were from Lee County. I have adopted this book as my family's history. This is the closest that I will get to know the history of my family. History books don't tell the complete story. I'm thankful for Margaret Walker's narrative. Enjoy a part of history told like nothing before!!

As an amateur historian, I have read extensively about the antebellum South and the institution of slavery, and about the South after the Civil War. I thought I had a fairly good understanding of theAfrican American experience in America. However, after reading this book, I see that I really only understood on an academic level. This is one of those rare and wonderful books that you can live in. While reading this book, I began to understand on a deeper level what life has been like for Black Americans in this country, and it saddens me deeply that we still live with the poisonous influence of the institution of slavery even today. This is one of the most enlightening books I have read in many years, and highly recommend it to everyone.

It has been sometime that I have read a book that I could not put down. Vyry is a person that I would have loved to meet. She was a person that no matter what life dealt her She faced it head on. She came through life with grace. It is a book that I could not quit reading and wanted it to continue.

I ordered this book for my high schooler because it was on the summer reading list. He's a fairly decent reader, so I could not accept that he didn't hop right on this one after all of the great reviews I read. So, I read it. And I get it. This is a very emotion-charged storyline about characters that lives just prior to (and after) the Emancipation Proclamation. The story line follows their mistreatment and the thoughts they took away from it. Deep. But this is a hard read for a high school student. It was really emotionally taxing for me.

This is an excellent story of post-slavery life and its effect on African-American and White Americans of many nationalities. It showed how the black family has evolved with psychosis from systemic and institutional racism especially its effect on the black male. The strength of the black family is also portrayed. Reading this story has brought me to the conclusion that no one has the right to judge a people who has endured what the African-American people has endured and still "We Rise".

I learned of this book while reading a biography of the author, and was encouraged to read her work. Jubilee was not just another story of the horror and injustice of slavery, although that is certainly described, but was also focused on the heroine Vyry who refused to see herself as a victim. Her resilience and perserverance in the face of adversity is a celebration of the human spirit, and a testament of faith. The fact that it is based upon a true story is even more interesting. Certainly, there is much history here, and it was enlightening to see what became of former slaves after the emancipation proclamation as they tried to acclimate themselves into southern states and a nation where some were not willing to leave the former status quo behind. In contrast,there were also incidents of kindness showing that there were people who saw beyond color and willing to accept all humanity as equals.

This book is beautifully written and very informative, a fantastic read.

Totally disappointed with this book I ordered a hardcover copy and was sent a mass production paperback .I am visually impaired and I do not read mass production paperback print is to small, I hope this seller will be able to sort this as I am eagerly waiting a reply

I love a good book about the civil war , and this exceeded my expectations! I enjoyed how the author built Vyry's character, and gave a wonderful impression of a life of a slave. This was a horrible piece of history, but Margaret Walker managed to make something admirable out of the awful events.

What a wonderful woman who only wanted to be free. Loved how it is written, I lived with these people for 4 days.

Interesting story about the South, pre the civil war, during and post.. Not that much has really changed in the good old USA