George Washington Williams

“[A]n informative and fascinating story of a ‘brilliant though flawed individual’ whose History of the Negro Race in America remains a landmark in African American history.” - Sage Race Relations Abstracts

“[A]n invaluable contribution to American Studies. . . .” - Saër Maty Bâ , European Journal of American Culture

“[T]his reprint of John Hope Franklin’s sympathetic and yet critical biography of the controversial life of George Washington Williams is indeed timely. . . . [It] is an important and engaging book. Franklin does not merely bring an important and largely ignored figure to our attention, but in exploring the historical opportunities and dilemmas for black American activist-intellectualism with warmth and a critical perspective, draws an insight into the historical emergence of Pan-Africanism and black American historiography, and contemporary understandings of the role of the intellectual within struggles for radical social transformation.” - Brett St. Louis , Ethnic and Racial Studies

“A major publishing event.” - Robert A. Hill , Chicago Tribune

“A superb biography.” - Denise Dennis , Philadelphia Inquirer

“Mr. Franklin’s quest . . . offers a unique view of the historian as detective as well as scholar. . . . Fascinating and engaging reading.” - Ira Berlin , New York Times Book Review

"[A]n exemplary, fascinating piece of scholarship. . . ." - Brian Ward , TLS

“An extraordinary accomplishment . . . a model biography. . . .” - John W. Blassingame

“In the historiography of African Americans, Williams stands not only as a pioneer, but as an author whose work has held its value. The conjunction of these two giants makes Franklin on Williams a work of enduring worth.” - Nell Irvin Painter, author of Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol