Amazing Grace tells the story of the remarkable life of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833). This accessible biography chronicles Wilberforce's extraordinary role as a human rights activist, cultural reformer, and member of Parliament. At the center of this heroic life was a passionate twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade, a battle Wilberforce won in 1807, as well as efforts to abolish slavery itself in the British colonies, a victory achieved just three days before his death in 1833. Metaxas discovers in this unsung hero a man of whom it can truly be said: he changed the world. Before Wilberforce, few thought slavery was wrong. After Wilberforce, most societies in the world came to see it as a great moral wrong.To mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade, HarperSanFrancisco and Bristol Bay Productions have joined together to commemorate the life of William Wilberforce with the feature-length film Amazing Grace and this companion biography, which provides a fuller account of the amazing life of this great man than can be captured on film. This account of Wilberforce's life will help many become acquainted with an exceptional man who was a hero to Abraham Lincoln and an inspiration to the anti-slavery movement in America.
Amazing Grace is the story of British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833), a man of whom it can truly be said: he changed the world. Human rights activist, cultural reformer, and member of Parliament, Wilberforce led a twenty year battle to abolish the British slave trade. He won this battle in 1807, and would go on to help abolish slavery itself in the British colonies shortly before his death in 1833. Eric Metaxas's best-selling biography of Wilberforce introduces readers to this extraordinary man, who has remained relatively unknown to the American public. Hero to Abraham Lincoln and inspiration to the anti-slavery movement in America, Amazing Grace will inspire readers everywhere to stand up for what they believe in -- no matter the odds. Eric Metaxas is the author of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask) and thirty children's books. He is founder and host of Socrates in the City. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Mars Hill Review, and First Things. "A superb history of the British campaign against slavery ... Amazing Grace will prov