All on fire : William Lloyd Garrison and the abolition of slavery

In All on Fire, William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879) emerges as an American hero, arguably on par with Abraham Lincoln, who forced the nation to confront the explosive issue of slavery. Mayer maintains that Garrison, a self-made man of scanty formal education who founded and edited the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, not only served as the catalyst for the abolition of slavery, but inspired two generations of activists in civil rights and the women's movement. Through Garrison, tragically torn between pacifism and abolitionist advocacy, we also meet a rich pageant of great 19th-century historical figures, including Frederick Douglass, John Quincy Adams,and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Mayer's consequential biography will be read for generations to come. "Superb....[A] richly researched, passionately written book."--William E. Cain, Boston Globe Widely acknowledged as the definitive history of the era, Henry Mayer's National Book Award finalist biography of William Lloyd Garrison brings to life one of the most significant American abolitionists. Extensively researched and exquisitely nuanced, the political and social climate of Garrison's times and his achievements appear here in all their prophetic brilliance. Finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the J. Anthony Lucas Book Prize, winner of the Commonwealth Club Silver Prize for Nonfiction. The author of Son of Thunder presents a definitive portrait of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and his role in the anti-slavery movement, discussing the impact of his newspaper The Liberator and his relationships with Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and other notable abolitionists. 40,000 first printing. The author "demonstrates how Garrison inspired two generations of activists--female and male, black and white--to build a social movement that challenged the dominant assumptions of white supremacy and forced change upon a reluctant majority."--Jacket Describes How The Abolitionist Used His Influence And His Weekly Newspaper To Motivate Two Generations Of Activists Fighting Against Slavery.