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karen_unabridged's review against another edition
4.0
Wilberforce deserves to be far better known. I know I've mentioned this before, but I very much enjoy Metaxas' writing style: just the right touches of wit and gravity.
justareadingmama_charly's review against another edition
4.0
I left this book feeling so inspired by Wilberforce, his empathy for any who suffered and his constant efforts to help them.
I really enjoyed the writing style of this biography. It felt easy to read and really painted a picture of who Wilberforce as a person as well as a public figure was. The author did include a lot of information that get superfluous, which sometimes slowed the flow of the book for me (particularly the end of the book).
Ultimately, I'm very glad I read this and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about abolition or Wilberforce.
I really enjoyed the writing style of this biography. It felt easy to read and really painted a picture of who Wilberforce as a person as well as a public figure was. The author did include a lot of information that get superfluous, which sometimes slowed the flow of the book for me (particularly the end of the book).
Ultimately, I'm very glad I read this and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about abolition or Wilberforce.
tsteffes's review against another edition
Forgotten no more! Fabulous biography on the man who man have done more for the ending of slavery than Mr. Abe Lincoln himself. Delightful read!
novelideea's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
eronn's review against another edition
4.0
Amazing book. Uplifting, inspiring, personally challenging; all that and it was brilliantly written by a witty, educated author. A must read for sure.
fionasongbird's review against another edition
5.0
This book is absolutely fantastic; a hidden gem. My only complaint is that I want more! I guess I'll have to read some of Metaxas' other books.
With all the William Wilberforce accomplished, it seems incredible that I had never heard of him. It isn't just school that's to blame; I read a lot of history and have still never seen him mentioned.
The introduction rightly points out that Wilberforce had to do a lot more than simply change the laws to abolish the slave trade and later slavery. He had to change people's hearts and minds. He had to get people to see the evils of slavery so that enough people would want to abolish it. Changing society itself, at least before social media, was a long and slow task.
I also really liked all the context that Metaxas included. It's often easy to reduce historical figures and even whole time periods to simple caricatures, so I really appreciated all the historical information included about what the time period was really like.
With all the William Wilberforce accomplished, it seems incredible that I had never heard of him. It isn't just school that's to blame; I read a lot of history and have still never seen him mentioned.
The introduction rightly points out that Wilberforce had to do a lot more than simply change the laws to abolish the slave trade and later slavery. He had to change people's hearts and minds. He had to get people to see the evils of slavery so that enough people would want to abolish it. Changing society itself, at least before social media, was a long and slow task.
I also really liked all the context that Metaxas included. It's often easy to reduce historical figures and even whole time periods to simple caricatures, so I really appreciated all the historical information included about what the time period was really like.
hornj's review against another edition
3.0
I appreciated learning more about Wilberforce's remarkable life in this book. Overall I'd say it was pretty engaging and well written, my main complaint would be that his opinion of Wilberforce's importance was higher than warranted. Listening to Metaxas, it sounded like Wilberforce was the originator of practically all charitable efforts, and before him practically no one showed kindness to anyone at all. I'm exaggerating what he said, but I think it would be better to appreciate Wilberforce's accomplishments for what they were rather than as something that no man could ever do.
kittybetty's review against another edition
2.0
The story of slavery's abolition has many heroes and motivations, but this is a biography of Wilberforce that, while highlighting his Christian motivations, manages to suggest Christians have a monopoly on ethics and morality. Eventually the conservative slant overwhelms any attempt at historical balance.
As in any account of the early efforts for abolition in England, I'm impressed by the feats of radical political action that were organized over 200 years ago to put a stop to the slave trade: the birth of the logo and slogan and boycott (although not yet called by that name) as tools of grassroots protest. Wilberforce himself is presented here as evangelical but down-to-earth, charming, disarming, hyperactive unless bedridden, and ultimately selfless and heroic. There is no doubt that he was a major force behind the abolition of the slave trade who devoted nearly three decades to the work he felt his god had pointed him toward.
But also be prepared for some wildly purple prose like, "the cataracts of praise... overwhelmed Wilberforce... The tiny trickle from Wilberforce's ducts had loosed a deluvian apocalypse never before seen in the chamber, but it was an apocalypse not of judgment but of grace...." etc etc. The style would be a little too much except that it fits well with the 18th-early19th-century voices and personalities depicted.
The constant references to religion as a source of inspiration for all the activism is wearing on my modern mind, but I have to respect these men's (he focuses on the deeds of men yeah) courage of their convictions. I wish the author would not insist that Christians alone can achieve ethical and moral ends, but as Christians go, I do wish modern Evangelicals had one hundredth of the social conscience of their radical forebears.
The author consistently trivializes the plight of the working class, and marginalizes those calling for reform as radicals. I get disgusted at about the 90% mark, when he downplays the guilt of the military in the Peterloo massacre, passing off the killing of peaceably-assembled protestors in passive voice--it was just something that happened in all the confusion. Drawing sabres on unarmed civilians, and leading a cavalry charge on them, is the equivalent of the Kent State or Tienanmen Square massacres of peaceful protestors. And of course, the pulpits of power often blame the victims for those and similar crackdowns on free speech.
Then there's the lady whom Wilberforce meets after not seeing her for 41 years, and he can only comment in his journal about how she has become lantern-jawed and ugly, in contrast to the pretty petite young miss he remembers. Pfft. Take a look in the mirror, Wilbur. We all get old, if we're lucky.
Yeah, so, even past 90%, it's a DNF--I've had enough and am not going to learn anything new in between the impassioned pieces of rhetoric and the chuckles shared with good old boys of the past. I'm glad Wilberforce did what he did for the cause of abolition, but he was a man of the 18th century, and so, it seems, is Metaxas.
DNF. I will spare myself those last two chapters.
As in any account of the early efforts for abolition in England, I'm impressed by the feats of radical political action that were organized over 200 years ago to put a stop to the slave trade: the birth of the logo and slogan and boycott (although not yet called by that name) as tools of grassroots protest. Wilberforce himself is presented here as evangelical but down-to-earth, charming, disarming, hyperactive unless bedridden, and ultimately selfless and heroic. There is no doubt that he was a major force behind the abolition of the slave trade who devoted nearly three decades to the work he felt his god had pointed him toward.
But also be prepared for some wildly purple prose like, "the cataracts of praise... overwhelmed Wilberforce... The tiny trickle from Wilberforce's ducts had loosed a deluvian apocalypse never before seen in the chamber, but it was an apocalypse not of judgment but of grace...." etc etc. The style would be a little too much except that it fits well with the 18th-early19th-century voices and personalities depicted.
The constant references to religion as a source of inspiration for all the activism is wearing on my modern mind, but I have to respect these men's (he focuses on the deeds of men yeah) courage of their convictions. I wish the author would not insist that Christians alone can achieve ethical and moral ends, but as Christians go, I do wish modern Evangelicals had one hundredth of the social conscience of their radical forebears.
The author consistently trivializes the plight of the working class, and marginalizes those calling for reform as radicals. I get disgusted at about the 90% mark, when he downplays the guilt of the military in the Peterloo massacre, passing off the killing of peaceably-assembled protestors in passive voice--it was just something that happened in all the confusion. Drawing sabres on unarmed civilians, and leading a cavalry charge on them, is the equivalent of the Kent State or Tienanmen Square massacres of peaceful protestors. And of course, the pulpits of power often blame the victims for those and similar crackdowns on free speech.
Then there's the lady whom Wilberforce meets after not seeing her for 41 years, and he can only comment in his journal about how she has become lantern-jawed and ugly, in contrast to the pretty petite young miss he remembers. Pfft. Take a look in the mirror, Wilbur. We all get old, if we're lucky.
Yeah, so, even past 90%, it's a DNF--I've had enough and am not going to learn anything new in between the impassioned pieces of rhetoric and the chuckles shared with good old boys of the past. I'm glad Wilberforce did what he did for the cause of abolition, but he was a man of the 18th century, and so, it seems, is Metaxas.
DNF. I will spare myself those last two chapters.
sarahetc's review against another edition
5.0
A ringingly well-written, high-level narrative biography about one of the most important figures in history. There is a lot to discuss, but I think it's best to focus on a point Metaxas makes early on and then threads through the rest of his history: William Wilberforce didn't just end slavery. William Wilberforce is the driver behind the idea that slavery is abhorrent. That it is still practiced, and widely at that, means we need to return again and again to Wilberforce's words and thoughts.