William Wilberforce

A Hero for Humanity

De: Kevin Belmonte

Narrado por: Simon Vance

Dramatized in the major motion picture Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce is the remarkable account of how one man's vision, courage, and relentless pursuit of justice brought freedom to thousands and changed the course of history.

"That the greatest and most successful reformer in all history is almost unknown today is a crying shame. Kevin Belmonte puts this right with his inspiring study of an inspiring life." Dr. Os Guinness, author of Unspeakable: Facing Up to the Challenge of Evil

"An excellently researched and insightfully written biography ... I applaud its sound scholarship and commend its perceptive insights into a great life." (Brian Sibley, author of C. S. Lewis: Through the Shadowlands)

William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity is the definitive biography of the English statesman who overcame incredible odds to bring about the end of slavery and slave trade. Called "[T]he wittiest man in England" by philosopher and novelist Madame de Stael, praised by Abraham Lincoln, and renowned for his oratorical genius, Wilberforce worked tirelessly to accomplish his goal. Whether you are an avid student of history, a pupil of prominent leaders of the past, or simply someone who reads for pleasure, you will love award-winning biographer Kevin Belmonte's vivid account of the life of William Wilberforce.

©2009 Kevin Belmonte (P)2011 Zondervan

Inspiring

His life is noteworthy and inspiring- I am glad I listened to it. He valued God, family, and others.

A Genuine Hero

Wow, I did not know about Wilberforce before listening to this biography. It takes an amazing person to bring change to a country. This is a story that fills you with pride that we have humans who work so hard to do what is right.

Disappointed, confusing structure

I enjoyed the first half of the book that was more or less sequential, but then the author started backtracking. I thought at first I had inadvertantly skipped back a section of the book. Some historical biographies stand as good story telling on their own. This is not one of them. It was confusing, there were stories sited that weren't ever put in context. The last half almost seemed like a list of recollections from the family after the history was told. They should have been integrated in the narrative better. I learned some history, some background, but won't be re-listening to this one. Ben Franklin, first american is much better if you are looking for a well written history and a good story together.

Boring, boring

I confess I stopped reading this book about half-way through the second half, and it was only in the hope that things would improve that I got that far. The early section on Wilberforce's childhood was quite good, but deteriorated with every chapter after that. The book may be interesting to students of Christian thought and philosophy but I think it's a book of interest only to the devout and non-Christians might best give it a miss. Fair enough that Christianity was the driving force in Wilberforce's life (after his conversion), but he did become something of a Bible-basher and Belmonte deals with Wilberforce's Christianity to the exclusion of nearly everything else. The big omission is Wilberforce's family life. I knew Wilberforce had children because their recollections of their father are dotted throughout from very early in the book, but how many children there were and how and when they arrived in the world isn't covered. The first I heard of Wilberforce's wife was a mere peripheral mention. Who she was and what she was like, their courtship (if there was one), their marriage and the birth of their children didn't rate so much as a sentence. What's more, the book is not well written. Its main fault is jumping around chronologically so you're often not sure where you are or whether your mind wandered and you and missed a chapter. Simon Vance does a sterling job of narration. He is to be applauded for sticking with it to the end.