To celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth, David Blight has written a new, comprehensive biography of Frederick Douglass, who was an escaped slave, a leading abolitionist and political activist, and one of the greatest orators and writers of his generation. Prize-winning historian Blight has drawn on letters and papers in a private collection that no other historian has consulted. He also relied on recently discovered copies of Douglass’ newspapers to bring us new insights into Douglass’ life and legacy.

Blight portrays a man who was both courageous and generous, but he also reveals that Douglass did not take well to rivals challenging his position as the greatest spokesman of his race (all the while mentoring younger black writers and leaders). Blight traces how Douglass traversed a crooked path from radical outsider to political insider and digs deep into the mental life of this multifaceted intellectual, editor and writer of short-form editorials, extended speeches and sermons, a memoir, and even one work of fiction.