Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery
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 in the Life of William Wilberforce
-Jonathan Aitken
Against great obstacles William Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian and a member of Parliament, fought for the abolition of the African slave trade and against slavery itself until they were both illegal in the British Empire.
Many are aware of Wilberforce’s role in bringing an end to slavery in Great Britain, but few have taken the time to examine the beliefs and motivations that spurred him on for decades. In this concise volume, John Piper tells the story of how Wilberforce was transformed from an unbelieving, young politician into a radically God-centered Christian, and how his deep spirituality helped to change the moral outlook of a nation.
As world leaders debate over how to deal with a host of social justice and humanitarian crises, a closer look at Wilberforce’s life and faith serves as an encouragement and example to all believers.
Zachary Macaulay (Bitesize Biographies)
John Newton: A Slave Set Free (Trailblazers)
William Wilberforce: The Freedom Fighter (Trailblazers)
This was the fate of thousands of women and children in the days before slavery was abolished. One man fought to bring freedom and relief from the terrors of the slave trade; it took him forty-five years. His name was William Wilberforce.
This is his exciting story that shows the amazing effect his faith in Christ and his love for people had on transforming a “A story deserving to be told to a new generation.”
Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister
“If ever I relived a life in my imagination it was while writing this life of the greatest Christian politician of all time. I travelled with him in my mind to his life as a boy in Hull and on to Cambridge University. I marvelled at the way the Lord reached him and saved his soul. I held my breath as he took on the horrendous slave trade in a three-hour speech before the House of Commons that became one of the greatest speeches in the history of mankind. His eventual triumph over slavery, three days before he died was astounding! The greatest joy I have experienced following the writing of this book has been to see it published in Arabic”
Derick Bingham ~ Was the teaching pastor at Christchurch, Belfast
“The abolition of slavery in the U.K. has an anniversary in the year 2007. This is why teachers, sunday school teachers and children’s workers should make sure they stock up on Wilberforce material in the run up to this. A film on Wilberforce’s life is also being launched in 2006. Make the most of these events and get Christian books into children’s homes on the back of them!”
Catherine MacKenzie ~ Author and CF4K Editornation.
Hannah More: The Woman Who Wouldn’t Stop Writing (Trailblazers)
Frederick Douglass: Young Defender of Human Rights (Young Patriots series)
Enemies of Slavery
Picture Book of Sojourner Truth (Picture Book Biography)
