"12 Years a Slave" is the harrowing, true account of a free Black man living in New York during the early 1800's who is kidnaped, transported to Louisiana and forced to work and live as a slave for over a decade. Written by the man who experienced these horrors - Solomon Northup - this book is a powerful and disturbing first-hand account of what it was like to live under the lash and chronicles the torments Northup endured in attempting to escape his captors and return home to his family in New York.

Northup's book was an immediate sensation when it was first published and was often singled out by the abolitionist movement as a foundational document in the argument to end the dehumanizing and morally bankrupt practice of human slavery in America. In 2013, it was the basis for the award-winning film of the same name. "12 Years a Slave" is presented here in its original and unabridged format.