"Harvard professor John Stauffer's new book, "Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln," is a perfect starting place for those whose interest in two of American history's most important figures has been piqued."

“Valuable insights . . . Stauffer's intelligent discussion of Ottilie Assing, the German intellectual and journalist with whom Douglass had a close relationship for over two decades, deserves special mention.”

-- The Weekly Standard

"Stauffer describes Douglass and Lincoln as ‘the two pre-eminent self-made men in American history,’ a fairly bold claim that he backs up with wonderful narrative verve. Stauffer manages the nifty trick of reinterpreting the familiar story of Lincoln, the Civil War and slavery by introducing Douglass as an important character in this narrative. Douglass was disappointed with Lincoln at first, but grew to become friendly with the president. This fascinating book will be of interest to popular audiences and academics alike.”

--Terry Golway, Newark Star Ledger

"John Stauffer's GIANTS is a lyrical, insightful treatment of the fascinating relationship between two geniuses, one a politician and the  other a radical reformer.  Both Lincoln and Douglass heard the music of words in their heads as few others, and Stauffer has an ear for the two of them in harmony.  That they started in such different places ideologically and yet moved together at the critical moment of emancipation makes this a timely and important book.  Stauffer brings the tools of literature and history to bear on this comparison with unmatched skill."

—David W. Blight, Yale University

author of Frederick Douglass' Civil War and A Slave No More.

"John Stauffer's collective biography of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln stands apart from other biographies by focusing on how each man continually remade himself, with help from women, words, self-education, physical strength, and luck.  In the process Stauffer gives us the texture and feel--a "thick description"--of the strange worlds that Douglass and Lincoln inhabited.  The result is a path-breaking work that dissolves traditional conceptions of these two seminal figures (Lincoln the "redeemer" president, Douglass the assimilationist).  He reveals how Douglass towered over Lincoln as a brilliant orator, writer, agitator, and public figure for most of his life.  He shows us how words became potent weapons for both men.  And he tells the poignant story of how these preeminent self-made men ultimately converged, despite their vastly different agendas and politics, and helped transform the nation."

—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University

author of The African American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Century

“Stauffer has crafted a masterful portrait of the two men who led the nation to an expansion of the definition of ‘freedom for all and tyranny toward none’ . . . In telling the stories of these two American giants, Stauffer paints a detailed portrait of the social and political atmosphere of mid-19th-century America and the struggle to make the United States truly united.”

-- The Roanoke Times

“With the hindsight that makes for history filled out and fully viewed, we can make linkages that, in their time, might not have been apparent or apropos. Such is the case with GIANTS . . . GIANTS will satisfy with the fresh light it casts upon two towering figures in American history as they played out the roles that destiny had chosen for them --- neither fully right and both flawed, but hewn from the same tree of idealism, determination and love of their people.”

--BookReporter

Like a daguerreotype, which nineteenth-century Americans thought captured not simply surface appearances, but peoples' souls, this book moves beyond biography to allow us to recover the inner lives of two utterly uncommon common men. This is the most insightful book about race and friendship in the nineteenth century that I have read.  It's poignant and perceptive, a book to be savored, a book that will last.

—Steven Mintz, Columbia University

author of America and Its Peoples: A Mosaic in the Making

"In this stunning book, John Stauffer has given us the most insightful portrait of either Lincoln or Douglass in years. In graceful prose, he tells a moving story of the two men who dominated Nineteenth century American life -- as allies across the racial divide, friends who drew common inspiration from hard scrabble beginnings and a love of language, and fellow travelers on the road of American self-making. Giants is simply must reading!"

author of Freedom's Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers.

“One of the most brilliantly conceived books of 2008. . . no previous biographer has intertwined their lives as skillfully as Stauffer . . . Throughout the book, Stauffer not only shares these men’s stories with expert grace but also demonstrates the centrality of dynamic individuals in the study of history . . . Stauffer’s narrative is far more than a feel-good historical saga. Among its virtues, it offers hope for true dialogue among those who could just as easily hate as they could reason.”

—Steve Weinberg, American Way