Frederick Douglass, former slave and great African American statesman, wrote three autobiographies that reveal—and hide—many elements of his life. David W. Blight, author of the forthcoming Frederick Douglass: A Life, examines how the biographer probes through and beyond Douglass’ own story to capture a complete picture..Blight is the Rogers Distinguished Fellow at The Huntington for 2010–11. He is the Class of 1954 Professor of American History at Yale University and the director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance & Abolition.