All God's Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw by Theodore Rosengarten

Book Description
Nate Shaw’s father was born under slavery. Nate Shaw was born into bondage that was only a little gentler. At the age of nine, he was picking cotton for thirty-five cents an hour. At the age of forty-seven, he faced down a crowd of white deputies who had come to confiscate a neighbor’s crop. His defiance cost him twelve years in prison. This triumphant autobiography, assembled from the eighty-four year old Shaw’s oral reminiscences, is the plain-spoken story of an ‘”over-average” man who witnessed wrenching changes in the lives of Southern black people – and whose unassuming courage helped bring those changes about. All God's Dangers won the National Book Award in 1975. Published in 1974, 600 pages.
Description from book jacket

“The characters in this book are real. Their names, except for historical figures, are fictitious. The names of most places and landmarks have also been changed.
These changes were made to protect the privacy of the family of the principal characters. Since the publication of the first edition, articles in various newspapers and magazines have identified the real Nate Shaw: he is Ned Cobb. The family of Ned Cobb, the publisher and Theodore Rosengarten join in proudly acknowledging that Nate Shaw is the fictitious name of Ned Cobb.” 
From the front of All God’s Dangers: the life of Nate Shaw

Research the author and the book using library resources
Information on the author’s life and works is available through our library’s online resources. Recommended online resources for All God’s Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw by Theodore Rosengarten include Literature Resource Center, MasterFILE Premier - Ebsco, Academic Search Premier, and Expanded Academic ASAP. Enter your library barcode and then use the author’s name or the book title to search for full-text encyclopedia or magazine articles.

Discussion questions
Memoir discussion questions from readinggroupguides.com
Biography discussion questions from readinggroupguides.com

Additional information
"A Genius Behind The Plow: Review of All God's Dangers The Life of Nate Shaw Edited by Theodore Rosengarten" By Nick Lemann. Published On Wednesday, November 13, 1974 in the Harvard Crimson.
"The Heart of Darkness Review of All God's Dangers The Life of Nate Shaw  by Theodore Rosengarten" By Paul Gray. Time magazines. Monday, Nov. 18, 1974
“Other Views of Nate Shaw” from ChickenBones: A Journal for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes.
“The American dream” By Greil Marcus. Salon.com (Delivered as a commencement address at the University of California at Berkeley, May 19, 2006.)
Ned Cobb lived during the time period of Jim Crow in our country’s history. Learn more using teacher resources or books about the Jim Crow era.
Ned Cobb's struggles are also portrayed in the poem "In Egypt Land" by John Beecher. The poem is available in this essay about poet John Beecher.

Readalikes
Non-fiction
Trouble in mind : Black southerners in the age of Jim Crow by Leon F. Litwack
What a woman ought to be and to do: Black professional women workers during the Jim Crow era by Stephanie J. Shaw
Fiction
Strange fruit by Lillian Smith 
The man who cried I am by John Alfred Williams