William Wilberforce and the Epic Journey to Abolish Slavery: The Inspiring Story of Amazing Grace

John D Shepherd: It is hard to appreciate the brutality of 18th century England with hangings as a form of public entertainment. At that era, sugar was the profit centre for empire, staffed by African slaves who lived under appalling conditions, both on the slave ships and in Caribbean sugar plantations.

Diverse groups of people, Methodists, and Quakers, and those who saw slavery firsthand, strived seemingly futilely to stamp out this abomination. The linchpin or connector, between these groups and English Parliament was William Wilberforce, a brilliant orator who fought the good fight from his mid-twenties. Days before he died, 45 years later, the Slavery Abolition Act was passed in Parliament, freeing hundreds of thousands of slaves, and inspiring the abolition movement in the USA.

The book is about William Wilberforce and the tireless efforts of many people who fought for human dignity and freedom. It’s a story, not just of something past. Human trafficking and bondage exist today, with over 25 million victims of human trafficking in all its different forms. Odds are, there are people being exploited in your own community.

Canada on Sep 04, 2023

B. Drury: This is an excellent book. William Wilberforce was an amazing man who, with others, transformed British society for the better, principally by bringing about the abolition of slavery and supporting many charitable societies advocating for the better conditions of the poor. That he was a Christian was a huge aspect to his inspiration and success, and he challenged the church of his day to acknowledge that to truly be a Christian required one to live as Christ advised…and to practice the Golden Rule.

Canada on Jul 23, 2023

Bill: Incredible what Wilberforce achieved with persistence despite his poor health an in the face of great opposition. Definitely a "must read", especially for current politicians!

United Kingdom on Feb 25, 2022

Kitty Foth-Regner: I didn’t think it would ever happen. But just three short years after falling in love with the Adoniram Judson biography To the Golden Shore, another book is threatening to overtake my heart’s literary #1 spot.

That book is Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas (Harper One, 2007). It’s the story of the horrific African slave trade, and the institution of slavery throughout the British empire, and one man’s epic 20+-year battle to abolish both.

Over the years, I had read and heard a great deal about slavery, starting with the enslavement of the children of Israel by the ancient Egyptians, as described in the Bible’s book of Exodus. And of course you can hardly grow up in America without hearing many accounts of the institution’s abominations in the South.

But earlier this year, I learned a great deal more from Jonathan Aitken’s stunning biography John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace (Crossway, 2007). Then, to further my education, Maranatha Baptist University’s Dr. David Saxon and his wife Jamie recommended that I read this Wilberforce biography.

After sketching out the content of...

United States on Sep 03, 2021

Lynsey Lou: I loved every minute of this book and found it gripping from start to finish. I had a very basic knowledge of Wilberforce before and now am completely in awe of his life. Completely humbling and inspiring and a incredible example of using one’s life to transform the world you were born into. It has challenged me and inspired me in many ways and I feel I will be forever impacted by his life illuminated so incredibly well by this outstanding book. Thank you . Aaron Dowds

United Kingdom on Dec 27, 2019

Cyberpastor: Es sind gleich mehrere Dinge, die diesen evangelikalen Briten, der im späten 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhundert lebte, auszeichneten: Am auffälligsten war seine außergewöhnliche Rednergabe. Er konnte aus dem Stegreif lange Reden halten, die seine Zuhörer fesselten. Was er sagte, war schon mitreißend genug. Aber noch mehr war es die Art und Weise, wie er sprach. Diese Fähigkeit setzte er für Gottes Sache ein; zunächst für das Verbot des Sklavenhandels (die Sklaverei als solche war in Großbritannien bereits abgeschafft, aber leider nicht in den Kolonien in der Karibik, damals "Westindien" genannt), dann für die Durchsetzung dieses Verbots in der Praxis und schließlich für die Ächtung der Sklaverei insgesamt. Dabei hatte er es mit mächtigen und wohlhabenden Gegnern zu tun, die um ihre Pfründe kämpften.

Getrieben wurde er dabei von der für die damalige Zeit unerhörte Erkenntnis, daß alle Menschen als Geschöpfe Gottes die gleichen Rechte haben und daß deshalb sein Land mit dem schwunghaften und einträglichen Sklavenhandel eine ungeheure Schuld vor Gott auf sich lud. Und das, obwohl Großbritannien sich als ein christliches Land betrachtete. Wilberforce...

Germany on Apr 15, 2013

Tim Challies: That the name of William Wilberforce has largely been lost to history seems somehow unfair. Wilberforce was the driving force behind the abolition of slavery within the British Empire. A Member of Parliament for forty-five years, the results of his efforts are still seen and understood in Western society to this day. Though his impact was felt not only at his time, but has extended through history, few people know his name. In Amazing Grace, Eric Metaxas' new biography of Wilberforce, which was timed to coincide with the release of a film by the same title (which was, in turn, timed to coincide with the two hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade) he makes the valid comparison to a scientist who discovers the cure for an inoculation against a terrible disease. As the disease is eradicated and passes out of memory, so the scientist's name is likely to be forgotten. And this is what seems to have happened to Wilberforce. We live in a day where slavery is unthinkable and we can hardly conceive of a time when the best and brightest of society defended it and thought little of pillaging the African continent for their own gain.

Though those of us who remember...

United States on Apr 19, 2007