A magisterial biography of one of the great Americans of the 19th century (or any century). Very long but very absorbing.

This is a tome of massive number of pages and words about a remarkable American - Frederick Douglass. Since Douglass was a great orator and writer, the author has a lot to deal with massive written records of Douglass himself and correspondence from many of his supporters in US, UK and Germany. In addition thousands of New Paper articles were written about Douglass. The biography is very thorough from boyhood to his death. Author often psychoanalyzes his writing. Douglass changes from a pacifist to a warring person during the Civil war. His interactions with President Lincoln are most amazing. Throughout his life he is slighted for his color again and again - and that in the North! During most of these events he keeps his calm against the indignities heaped on him. I am also impressed by his handling of harsh criticisms - he seem to get more energized when his enemies attack him in press or speeches. So if you have patience to read this massive tome, I highly recommend it.

Massive biography of Frederick Douglass, this volume is often brilliant, occasionally plodding, but definitely worth reading. Blight does a good job of presenting who Frederick Douglass was, as a human being, from a little boy born into slavery with only the faintest memories of his mother (from whom he was separated at an early age) to a self-made elder statesman, who continued to spread the word about racism to the day he died. Many of the themes that Douglass gave voice to remain, sadly, pertinent today.

One of the best history books/bios I have read. Profound, insightful, and very relevant today.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It gave me new perspectives of the Civil War, U.S. Grant, the Jim Crow era as well as learning much about a man a thought I knew: his power as a public orator, his publication of newspapers, his thoughts in England & Ireland, his family life. Yes, it is very detailed - it is not a book to be read over the weekend. But there was so much Blight wanted us to know about this important man.

NYT 10 Best 2018

In depth detail and too thorough for my interests, each year broken down month by month. It is one of the more difficult bios to get through.

On Barack Obama's Top Books of 2018