EVANSTON, Ill. --- A rare first edition of the 1951 book "Amos Fortune: Free Man" by Elizabeth Yates is part of Northwestern University's Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies collection.

The first book with African content to win the prestigious John Newberry Medal for children's literature, "Amos Fortune" tells the story of the title character, who was captured in West Africa at age 15 and transported to Massachusetts, where he lived as a slave until age 60, when he purchased his freedom.

It was acquired in 2001 with money from the Africana Gift Book Fund. The Africana collection includes children's books about or published in Africa.