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All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolition of Slavery Paperback – Illustrated, May 17, 2008

by Henry Mayer (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 56 ratings
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"Superb....[A] richly researched, passionately written book."--William E. Cain, Boston Globe

Widely acknowledged as the definitive history of the era, Henry Mayer's National Book Award finalist biography of William Lloyd Garrison brings to life one of the most significant American abolitionists. Extensively researched and exquisitely nuanced, the political and social climate of Garrison's times and his achievements appear here in all their prophetic brilliance. Finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the J. Anthony Lucas Book Prize, winner of the Commonwealth Club Silver Prize for Nonfiction.
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  1. Print length
    769 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    May 17, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    6.1 x 1.93 x 9.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393332365
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393332360
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henry Mayer was a National Book Award finalist for All on Fire and is the author of A Son of Thunder: Patrick Henry and the American Republic. He died in 2000.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Illustrated edition (May 17, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 769 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393332365
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393332360
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.3 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.93 x 9.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 56 ratings

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Henry Mayer

Henry Mayer

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4.8 out of 5 stars
56 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book insightful and well-written. They appreciate its knowledge about the times it chronicles, making it fascinating for anyone interested in social justice. The writing quality is described as talented and powerful.

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7 customers mention "Insight"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and well-researched. They describe it as an engaging read that illuminates a fascinating man's personal story interwoven with political events. The book is accessible for novices yet cutting-edge enough for scholars looking for more detail.

"...greatest Americans: psychologically acute; sympathetic but open-eyed about its subject; deeply knowledgeable about the times it chronicles; keenly..." Read more

"...Lots of history, lots of family love, lots to be proud of. A truly outstanding American character was William Lloyd Garrison." Read more

"...The book is easily accessible to the novice and cutting edge enough for the scholar looking for a deeper understanding of Garrison and the..." Read more

"Well written, gripping. Tells story of the spark that lead to the beginnings of the battle ending slavery...." Read more

5 customers mention "Writing quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality engaging and skillful. They describe the book as well-written, easy to read, and insightful.

"...knowledgeable about the times it chronicles; keenly analytical; gracefully and powerfully written...." Read more

"...Mayer is a great writer who allows us to see, and feel, the mounting crisis as Americans in the past Century saw and felt it...." Read more

"Well written, gripping. Tells story of the spark that lead to the beginnings of the battle ending slavery...." Read more

"Easily one of my favorite biographies. Well written, easy and engaging read that illuminates a very intriguing man." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Mark Paul
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great American biography for a great American life
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    A few days before his death, Abraham Lincoln said, “I have only been an instrument. The logic and moral power of Garrison, and the anti-slavery people of the country and the army, have done all.” Henry Mayer's All on Fire captures Garrison, and the logic and moral power he gave to his country, as no other work has. It is one of the great American biographies of one of the greatest Americans: psychologically acute; sympathetic but open-eyed about its subject; deeply knowledgeable about the times it chronicles; keenly analytical; gracefully and powerfully written. For anyone who cares about American history, the place of religion in public life, and the role of the agitator in democratic politics, it is a book worth pondering and savoring.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars a great big book to enjoy
    Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This book traces W. L. Garrison's life from boyhood to his demise. His personal story is interwoven with the political events of his life. However, it is not about everything that was transpiring in the 1830, 40's and 50's - only those directly touching on what Garrison thought pertinent in the struggle against slavery.

    The author admires Garrison, that is plain to see and by the time I was finished reading I admired him very much, too.
    I enjoyed sitting down with this book over a span of several days. I was always eager to get back and see what Garrison was up to or what setbacks he was suffering.

    Lots of history, lots of family love, lots to be proud of. A truly outstanding American character was William Lloyd Garrison.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • history buff
    5.0 out of 5 stars Human rights, the quest of a lifetime
    Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Outstanding is a limited word for All on Fire . Not only Garrison's place is restored to its rightful place in history, but Mayer infuses us with the vision and devotion that saw beyond the emancipation proclamation to a world where all humans could live as truly free with rights and mutual respect. This is an essential book for those who want to understand our history and many of the courageous people who dedicated their lives to the cause of human rights.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Brigitte
    5.0 out of 5 stars Talented writer!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2022
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    So impressed by the book and the author!
    One person found this helpful
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  • R. Albin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent; 4.5 Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2015
    This well written, very well researched, and thoughtful book is an excellent biography of the great abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison. One of Mayer's goals was to rescue Garrison from relative obscurity and demonstrate his central role in the great controversies that led to the Civil War. Mayer succeeds admirably, partly because Garrison is a generally attractive and in important respects modern figure. The child of a father who abandoned his family, Garrison had a somewhat difficult childhood and youth. While he was the beneficiary of the New England commitment to primary education, the talented Garrison was very much an autodidact. Apprenticed to a printer as teen, he acquired the skills that would permit his career as a pioneering abolitionist journalist. Mayer is particularly good on the motivations for Garrison's commitments to human rights; a combination of heterodox and fervent religious beliefs with a Romantic belief in individual capacity. Garrison's expansive view of humanity led him to the anti-slavery cause. One of the few Americans who really believed in the equality of African-Americans, he followed this principles logically to become an early advocate of women's rights.

    Mayer shows Garrison's commitment and diligence in what must have appeared initially a hopeless cause. Over the course of decades, Garrison and his colleagues, many of them the first women to be important figures in American politics, were significant factors in the transformation of Northern political opinion. Mayer is particularly good on important and interesting aspects of Garrison's life and the abolitionist movement. Garrison aimed at a moral, not political transformation of American life. His moral perfectionism drove his pacifism, his skepticism towards the established churches that he saw as compromising with evil, and his suspicion of conventional politics. Garrison's famous attack on the Constitution and advocacy of peaceful disunion was a logical result of his perfectionism. Garrison's life, which included participation in spiritualism and anti-sabbatarianism, was in some respects a characteristic manifestation of the radical religious experimentation of 19th century American life. Mayer also narrates the complex internal politics of the anti-slavery movement quite well.

    Garrison was not, however, dogmatic. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the life long pacifist supported the Republican government. He saw the war correctly as an opportunity for emancipation. Initially quite skeptical of Lincoln, over the course of the war, he became a de facto Radical Republican. He was, however, deeply disappointed by the failure of Reconstruction and the collapse of the Republican commitment to equal rights for African-Americans. His reputation suffered after the war as an increasingly conservative and racist America came to view abolitionist "fanaticism" as one of the causes of the war.

    While this is an excellent biography, I think there is at least one point that Mayer gets wrong. He emphasizes Garrison's role in the gradual transformation of Northern opinion towards slavery. I suspect this is correct but incomplete. In some ways, Garrison's most important audience was not in the North but in the South. Garrison and other abolitionists were regarded with actual fear by many Southerners. The greatest act of censorship in American history was the ban, enforced by the Federal government, on circulation of abolitionist publications in the South. Abolitionists were a fringe political movement in the North but apparently frightened Southerners in a manner out of proportion to their actual influence. Southern insecurity about their Peculiar Institution drove much of the relatively aggressive political behavior of Southern politicians, leading to increasing resentment on the part of the Northern public. The transformation of Northern political opinion was partly an ironic result of abolitionist activities.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Vegan Gal
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and essential for anyone interested in social justice and history
    Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    So glad this finally made it to Kindle! One of the best biographies ever written. Garrison is an inspiration and role model for anyone interested in social justice, he was preternaturally gifted at both strategy and what we now call media, and so I'm grateful for this in-depth exploration of his life, ideas, views, and achievements, which I reread periodically.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Alan Mills
    5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring story of a man committed to battle against sin
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2002
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    Garrison decided that slavery was wrong, and devoted his entire life to publishing The Liberator, a newspaper whose only mission was to end slavery. He did so, week after week, often without money, and occassionally despite violent attacks by pro-slavery forces. He refused compromise. He refused to accept "workable" solutions. Slavery was morally bankrupt, and he fought against it, using the power of words alone.
    When he began his crusade, slavery was accepted, and most people thought it was here to stay. Garrsison was a voice crying in the dark. When he closed down The Liberator, slavery was over, and the vast majority of the country thought it was wrong.
    Anyone who reads, anyone who fights for social justice, and certainly anyone who writes should read this book. It is hard to imagine anyone whose life reflects the axiom: "the pen is mightier than the sword" better than Garrison.
    8 people found this helpful
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