Frederick Douglass Prophet of Freedom

Absolutely masterful (and thorough) biography.

May we all be better abolitionists.

I couldn't finish this book. The writing is florid and overwrought. The author never uses one adjective or noun where he could use three or four. He also constantly speculates on what Douglass might have thought or said - sometimes three or more times in a single paragraph. How this book won a Pulitzer is beyond me. Avoid it.

Short Review: This is a very well written book. It is somewhat amazing that there is so much documentation that this can be based on. And part of what I find amazing about the book are the little details that Blight has clearly worked hard to reveal.

Blight seems particularly good match. He writes with real literary skill. He is known for his work on memory and for Douglass who wrote three autobiographies, and has multiple editions of those, Blight's work on memory is especially helpful. Blight also has written about slave narratives, the underground railroad and reconstruction. All of which come to bear with Douglass.

I think the best I can say is that after reading 900 pages on Douglass, I was left wanting more.

I have a fuller review on my blog (about 1450 words) at http://bookwi.se/frederick-douglass/