Edward ball is the author of works of nonfiction including slaves in the family, which won the national book award. Slaves in the family 9780345431059 by ball, edward and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. He has taught at yale university, and he lives in new haven, connecticut. Born and raised in the south, he attended brown university and received his mfa from the university of iowa before coming to new york and working as an art critic for the village voice. Journalist ball confronts the legacy of his familys slaveow. I wish that i could find a common theme to unite as much of my familys story as ball has done. Slaves in the family is a biographical historical account written by edward ball, published in 1998. Ball family slaveholders, 16981865 this is an index page. He finished high school in new orleans and attended brown university, graduating in. The story of how i linked priscilla and the martin family has several unlikely twists. His first book, slaves in the family, won the national book award. Slaves in the family is a book about the authors family, slaveowners in south carolina for 170 years.
Edward ball grew up hearing stories of his familys history of being a part of the plantation elite and of their slaves. Edward ball journalist ball confronts the legacy of his familys slaveowning past, uncovering the story of the people, both black and white, who lived and worked on the balls south carolina plantations. Slaves in the family has the potential for creating. Their story represents that of many african americans. Fifteen years after its hardcover debut, the fsg classics reissue of the celebrated work of. Martin, retired assistant school principal and a seventhgeneration descendant of priscilla. Edward ball traces his past back to the large south carolina rice plantations once controlled by family patriarchs and worked by hundreds of enslaved africans over more than 150 years. Fifteen years after its hardcover debut, the fsg classics reissue of the celebrated work of narrative nonfiction that won the national book award and changed.
Your own responses to book slaves in the family epub additional viewers are able to make a decision about a ebook. Use of this excerpt from slaves in the family by edward ball may be made only for purposes of promoting the book, with no changes, editing or additions whatsoever, and must be accompanied by the following notice. History, journey, discovery slaves in the family by edward ball. When you have finished viewing pages that link here, you can close them out and this index will still be open.
Edward ball born october 8, 1959 is an american writer, a university instructor and the author of five books of nonfiction, including slaves in the family 1998 and the inventor and the tycoon 20. Slaves in the family book by edward ball thriftbooks. The white people who came from england and often married other early settlers in the colonial days. In 1994, i began to research my book slaves in the family. If you only read one book about the legacy of slavery. The item slaves in the family, edward ball represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in indiana state library. Dad was an episcopal priest, so the houses we lived in belonged to the church, and my parents owned a single car. Now in another way, i am going to take another step, which is that some other members of the ball family and i are going to create a foundation that will be funded initially. Were you surprised by any of the reactions ball received from descendants he contacted and met.
In slaves in the family,edward ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his familys. Edward ball, recipient of the 1998 national book award, delivers the keynote speech at the annual meeting of the san diego historical society. Edward ball the gilder lehrman center for the study of. In slaves in the family, edward ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his familys slaves. Arriving in the new world just before the 1700s, elias red cap ball sets out to make his fortune as a farmer.
Slaves in the family by edward ball is an impressive book, demonstrating years of research, interviews and exploration. I found it fascinating that, thanks to his familys extensive family records, he was able to trace so many slaves back to africa. The new yorker everyone should read and learn from this luminous book. Balls mission, in reckoning with a past for which he feels accountable, if not responsible, is twofold. Part historical narrative, part oral history, part personal story of investigation and catharsis, slaves in the family is, in the words of pat conroy, a work of breathtaking generosity and courage, a magnificent study of the. In the ball family, the tale of wambaw elias and his slaves passed as a childrens story. Edward ball born october 8, 1959 is an american writer and the author of six books of nonfiction, including slaves in the family 1998, the inventor and the. He lives in connecticut and teaches writing at yale university. Ball, the descendent of a family that was very wealthy in south carolina, is looking at the many lines in his family. Edward ball has traveled all over the united states to meet descendants of ball slaves who number between 75,000 and 100,000 living americans.
Slaves in the family by edward ball book club discussion. A journalists exhaustively researched, intensely personal quest confronts the legacy of slavery connecting his south carolina family and the people they enslaved. The book examines the history of the ball family, particularly the black slaves that supported their livelihood and. Among the thousands once enslaved by my family in south carolina, there was one man, p. In slaves in the family, edward ball rewrites his family legends in an. This book helps readers to visualize, if not understand, the slave legacy still enmeshed in this country today.
Edward ball finds fredericks descendants, living in ohio, pennsylvania, and south carolina. This book keeps the readers interest in the lives of those of whom he writes. Find slaves in the family 0670881066 by ball, edward. I would like to be able to work as many generations and lines into one book as he has in slaves in the family. Slaves in the family by edward ball 2014, paperback at the best online prices at ebay. Description of the book slaves in the family 4 cassettes. It examines the family histories of the slaves owned by his family on plantations in south carolina. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Slaves in the family by edward ball, 9780374534455, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Between 1698 and 1865, close to four thousand black people were born into slavery under the balls or were bought by them. Ben affleck could learn a thing or two to learn from edward ball. Edward ball was born in savannah, georgia, in 1958, grew up in south carolina, florida, and louisiana. Their plantations were among the oldest and longeststanding plantations in the south. Links on this page open in a new window so you wont lose your place. Simply, ball slaves were people owned by members of the ball family whose, lives could be traced in the surviving files. In his work slaves in the family, ball details his journey to discovering the descendants of the slaves that his family owned. He also does a superb job summarizing the history and times of those in his book. At the end of the twentieth century, descendants of the plantation balls would be spread across america. Slaves in the family by edward ball, paperback barnes. The book had a wordy title, recollections of the ball family of south carolina and the comingtee plantation.
It recounts the authors search for and meetings with african americans whose ancestors his. Firsttime author and awardwinning journalist edward ball confronts the legacy of his familys slaveowning past, uncovering the story of the people, both black and white, who lived and worked on the balls south carolina. Twenty years after this celebrated work of narrative nonfiction won the national book award and changed the american conversation about race, slaves in the family makes its audio debut, with a new preface by the author. Slaves in the family is the winner of the 1998 national book award for nonfiction and hailed by the new yorker as a brilliant blend of archival research and oral history. Part historical narrative, part oral history, part personal story of investigation and catharsis, slaves in the family is, in the words of pat conroy, a work of breathtaking generosity and courage, a magnificent study of the complexity and strangeness and beauty of the word family. Edward ball talked about his book, slaves in the family. Edward ball is the author of four works of nonfiction, including slaves in the family.
Do you know of a history of slavery in your own family, and if so, would you do as edward ball has and try to contact descendants of the slaves or the descendants of slave owners. It deals with the treatment of black slaves, differences in the duties of males and females and the womens role as preservers of family history and as providers of insight into plantation life. Edward ball discussed his book slaves in the family, published by random house. Ball also tracks a young slave girl from sierra leone to charleston, where second elias ball bought her, and traces her lineage to thomas p. Like alex haleys roots, through which african american history came into national focus. In this way, slaves in the family is an initiation, for ball and for other whites, into a fuller story of slavery and into a worldview and consciousness of the past held by blacks. A gilded age murder and the birth of moving pictures doubleday. Edward balls other books comprise biography, history, and memoir. Slaves in the family was a new york times bestseller and won the national book award for nonfiction.
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