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I purchased this book with low expectations, assuming it was a hastily-written biography produced to promote the upcoming Wilberforce film. I was very pleasantly surprised. The author, Eric Metaxas, has produced a masterpiece worthy of its subject. Metaxas is an eloquent and fluid writer, and he brings to life one of Britain's most gifted and eloquent politicians. William Wilberforce electrified Parliament in his early years, before he yet had a cause. His silver tongue and quit wit won him many friends, including Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. Had Wilberforce continued along this path, he might well have succeeded Pitt. With respect and sensitivity, Metaxas documents a powerful change to Wilberforce. Through a serious and intelligent conversion to Evangelical (Methodist) Christianity, Wilberforce's life was forever altered. His heart was changed ... to God and humanity. He could no longer ignore the sufferings of African slaves, kidnapped and shipped under horrible conditions to a living death in Britain's Caribbean colonies. He brought his faith to bear on politics ... as controversial in his day as in ours. Metaxas dramatically shows how much Wilberforce suffered for the sake of abolition. He faced powerful and dangerous foes without fear or malice. By the force of his stubborn will, Wilberforce awakened the British conscience. He refused to turn back, despite many bitter setbacks. Returning to Parliament year after year, Wilberforce finally saw the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. Then, mere days before his death, he witnessed Parliament's history-changing vote to outlaw slavery throughout the British colonies.