Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass by David W. Blight is a monumental biography of the esteemed former slave who became a leading voice for abolition and civil rights in America. This richly detailed and immersive work takes readers from Douglass's harrowing escape from slavery in Baltimore in 1838 to his rise as one of the most extraordinary figures in American history. The book delves deeply into Douglass's journey as he educated himself, becoming a powerful orator and prolific writer who used his immense talents to champion the cause of freedom and equality.

Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in History

Winner of the Bancroft, Parkman, Los Angeles Times (biography), Lincoln, Plutarch, and Christopher Awards

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

As a young man, Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was fortunate to have been secretly taught to read by his slave owner’s wife, which ignited a spark of intellectual curiosity and a hunger for freedom. Douglass's very existence and achievements rebutted the dehumanising arguments of slave owners, as he bore powerful testimony to the brutality and injustice of the institution of slavery.

Initially mentored by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, Douglass travelled widely, eloquently condemning slavery in public speeches that drew upon his own personal experiences. By the time of the Civil War, Douglass had become the most famous and widely travelled African American orator of his time. Douglass's powerful and eloquent voice, both written and spoken, became an unrelenting critique of American society and a testament to the ideals of radical patriotism. Though he sometimes clashed politically with younger African American leaders after the war, Douglass remained steadfast in his commitments to the Republican Party and the cause of black civil and political rights.

In this "cinematic and deeply engaging" (The New York Times Book Review) biography, David Blight draws on newly discovered information from a private collection, as well as previously unexamined issues of Douglass's newspapers, to create a vivid and comprehensive portrait of Douglass’s life and legacy. Blight's biography also explores the personal side of Douglass's story, including his two marriages and complex extended family relationships. Blight's work has been praised as "absorbing and even moving...a brilliant book that speaks to our own time as well as Douglass’s" (The Wall Street Journal), and hailed by The Boston Globe as "the definitive biography of Frederick Douglass...a powerful portrait of one of the most important American voices of the nineteenth century."