Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History “Extraordinary…a great American biography” (The New Yorker) of the most important African-American of the nineteenth century: Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave who became the greatest orator of his day and one of the leading abolitionists and writers of the era. As a young man Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, … Douglass (1818-1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence he bore witness to the brutality of slavery.
Initially mentored by William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass spoke widely, using his own story to condemn slavery. By the Civil War, Douglass had become the most famed and widely travelled orator in the nation. In his unique and eloquent voice, written and spoken, Douglass was a fierce critic of the United States as well as a radical patriot. After the war he sometimes argued politically with younger African Americans, but he never forsook either the Republican party or the cause of black civil and political rights.
In this “cinematic and deeply engaging” (The New York Times Book Review) biography, David Blight has drawn on new information held in a private collection that few other historian have consulted, as well as recently discovered issues of Douglass’s newspapers. “Absorbing and even moving…a brilliant book that speaks to our own time as well as Douglass’s” (The Wall Street Journal), Blight’s biography tells the fascinating story of Douglass’s two marriages and his complex extended family. “David Blight has written the definitive biography of Frederick Douglass…a powerful portrait of one of the most important American voices of the nineteenth century” (The Boston Globe).
In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Frederick Douglass won the Bancroft, Parkman, Los Angeles Times (biography), Lincoln, Plutarch, and Christopher awards and was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Time.
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This much-anticipated biography of the foremost black leader and one of the greatest Americans of the nineteenth century fully lives up to and even exceeds high expectations. It is a work not only of stunning scholarship but also of literary artistry. David Blight’s—and Frederick Douglass’s—achievements have immeasurably enriched our understanding of slavery, abolitionism, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom is a triumph—elegantly written, with much new material about one of the most famous and important men in modern history. David Blight has created a vibrant and convincing portrait of a towering figure who was also, Blight says, ‘thoroughly and beautifully human.’ A great American gets the stellar biography he deserves from one our country’s greatest historians.
Very interesting about history
It’s an important chapter of American History. Douglass was an outstanding American and his story needs to be told to all ages.
Most of us know Frederick Douglass as not only one of the most instrumental figures of his time but also as one of the most iconic men in American history. We often learned about Douglass in school while reading his first autobiography of 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Many of us, including myself, however, have not read the other two more lengthy revisions of his autobiography, one written in 1855 titled My Bondage and My Freedom and the last installment in 1881 titled Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. Through these works, along with his innumerable speeches, articles, and letters, Douglass spent his life confronting the evils of slavery and race oppression. Before the Civil War and after Reconstruction, his work continued to excavate memory in order to preserve the legacy of slavery and how its impact left the stain of racism and violence on America.
Although we can learn much from Douglass’s three books and his other countless writings, he was nearly mum on a number of subjects in his personal life. David Blight investigates those silences. They include the dysfunction of his family, primarily with the challenge of his children to maintain stable work and careers. Douglass carried on a probable affair with Ottilie Assing, an intellectual white German woman, who lived periodically with his family. After the death of his first wife Anna, his second marriage to Helen Pitts, a white woman twenty years younger than him, caused significant controversy. Not only did Douglass’s career as an orator and writer serve as his primary weapon for condemning and ending slavery, it became a necessity in order for him to keep earning ample income to care for his large and extended family, who constantly relied on Douglass for loans and bailouts.
Blight makes Douglass both prophetic and human, a man of great achievement but also plenty of failures. His dream of maintaining his own newspaper was unsustainable in the long run and became a constant drain on his finances. Given the responsibility as head of the Freedman’s Bank, he was unable to save it from collapse. He also had a less than stellar record as foreign minister to Haiti with establishing diplomatic peace with the island-nation, even as much of the conflict was not his direct fault. Blight does an admirable job with charting Douglass’s extraordinary life from enslavement to freedom and with providing extensive interpretation of major events. With both effectiveness and sometimes awkwardness, Blight quotes widely from Douglass’s vast body of work and from a plethora of other primary sources of the era whether newspapers, publications, or the letters and correspondence of others with Douglass.
Immersion in this great man’s life reminds me of how relevant his voice still is while the harmful vestiges of racism and discrimination continue to haunt contemporary America. Armed with literacy, knowledge, and the power of his words, Douglass spent his life on a ceaseless mission to confront the evils of slavery and racial inequality while also fighting for the cause of freedom. It is never a poor choice to seek out Douglass’s guidance to give us direction, and as this 2018 publication coincides with the two-hundredth anniversary of Douglass’s birth, Blight’s new biography feels as important as ever. His study is engaging throughout, but I did find his prose overwritten and his choice of sentence structure often clumsy. Nonetheless, I looked forward to reading this epic biography spanning over nine-hundred pages, and I do feel better for having read every word in its attempt to excavate the unknown depths of Frederick Douglass.
I have to be honest and confess that I’m still working my way thorough this wonderfully written biography of a man I have always found fascinating because while he started his life as a slave and was soon separated from the few family members he could rightfully claim, Frederick Douglass was destined to become one of the greatest orators in the history of our country. I was shocked and moved to tears by the savage beatings Frederick witnessed as a young child, impressed by his love of reading and the transformation that his thirst for knowledge and education brought to his life. This is a fabulous book that every history buff can dig their teeth into and I intend to savor it slowly so that I can absorb all of the tiny details that this author so painstakingly researched in order to write this book. It’s absolutely mesmerizing! I read a complimentary copy of this book provided by Simon and Schuster through NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.
This is a very comprehensive and meticulously researched biography of an absolutely fascinating man. This book is a true joy to read for every history buff. Must-read, even.
The author brings us an incredibly detailed analysis and thought-provoking insights into Douglass’ life and times, and sadly, also shows us that some of the attitudes he struggled against his entire life are still relevant today.
This is by no means light reading, but it is oh so very interesting. The reader’s full attention is required to keep abreast with the many people important to Douglass and/or the 19th century US & world at large, not to mention all the political strife and machinations of that turbulent era.
I very much enjoyed David W. Blight’s writing style. He has a real gift for the written word, sounding almost literary at times and creating clear and dramatic scenes in my mind’s eye. Very much bringing home the emotional impact of certain key moments in Douglass’ life. I really liked that the author doesn’t shy away from Douglass’ character flaws or less sympathetic moments, not idolizing him, but painting us an objective picture of a great, though not perfect, man.
The many quotes from letters, as well as from his autobiographies, especially held my interest and I also loved that the book has so many photographs in it, of Douglass, his family and contemporaries.
It’s a pity that we have so little information about Anna Murray, Douglass’ first wife. More insight into Douglass’ feelings for her or Julia Griffiths, Ottilie Assing or Helen Pitts for that matter, would have been wonderful and would have helped us discover more of Douglass the man, be it as a husband or lover, rather than Douglass the public figure.
As a European who only just discovered him, I have to admit that I’m left awestruck by the courageous and complex man that was Frederick Douglass.
David Blight brilliantly illustrates both the perils and possibilities of our national history through a rich and humane portrait of a man and his times. This is a remarkable book about a remarkable American and his enduring impact.
David Blight’s incandescent Frederick Douglass is a monumental achievement of biographical empathy, historical context, and grim comprehensiveness, a much-awaited masterpiece of a life that emblematized slavery as the problem of the 19th century, as was race that of Du Bois’s 20th, the legacy of both the problem of our 21st century.
A stunning achievement. Blight captures an icon in full humanity. From riveting drama in slavery and Civil War, his Douglass rises into clairvoyant genius on the blinkered centrality of race in our struggle for freedom.
Frederick Douglass by David W. Blight is not a boring biography but the story of a man who lived his beliefs. I enjoyed reading about the people who shaped his life by force and others he chose to affect him even more deeply in his spirit. This biography portrays Douglass realistically with an in depth look at his family, contemporaries and fellow workers. Frederick Douglass learned from his experiences and changed the lives of others with his spirit, beliefs and work to abolish slavery. I recommend this book to anyone interested in abolition, slavery and United States History. My thanks to the author, the publisher and netgalley for making this book available to read and review.