Good dual biography for an introduction but a more interesting and more detailed book on the same subject is Russell Freedman's Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship. ( )

A trailblazer and a game-changer? I am not referring to the protagonists in Dwight J. Zimmerman’s book The Hammer and The Anvil: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and the End of Slavery in America, I am speaking of the book itself.
Yes, the book is a duel biography of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln and the relationship they shared for a short while during Lincoln’s term in office. Yes, they are historically accurate, but quite brief. This can be understood knowing that dual biographies can be tough. Yes, they are blended quite well throughout the book. One storyline is quite evident from the next and more so when their experiences intertwine.
No, I am not speaking about any of that when I say it is a trailblazer or a game-changer. This title is a graphic novel. Graphic novels are somewhat of a rarity in the field of history, though not unheard of (an excellent example is Maus by Art Spiegelman). What is so fantastic about this is the quality of the scholarship, the flow of the story, the clarity of the narrative, the artwork and its use of colors. To the extent I have not yet seen or enjoyed.
The facts of the story had been reviewed by the eminent 19th century scholar Craig L. Symonds. The author went over each person’s story quickly, but not without the feel like they missed something. The work always seemed to cover enough to give the reader understanding. The narrative and conversations within the story were chosen well. The speech clouds and quotes that were known to be true or if need be, could be researched easily. The writing was kept short and was not too scholarly as to lose sight of who their audience was. The artwork was very nice, though I think Lincoln would be very flattered with his portrayal. He seems like he could have been quite the handsome man, which most of us know was not the case. They used color to indicate separate story lines. Douglass was a shade of blue-grey and Lincoln was a rust-pink. When their storylines interconnected, full color story panes were used. An effect that I thought made the book more arresting and original.
If I had an issue with the book, it would be with the long lasting effects they believed the relationship had on the future of society. I do not believe it was to the extent they imply, when writing history one must stick to fact based findings and not assumptions and cherry picking of historical incidents to support future events.
When all is said and done, I would recommend this title to all Abraham Lincoln fans, students of Fredrick Douglass, American history buffs and fans of graphic novels. If more history is written in graphic novel form, and I hope there is, one can look to the quality of The Hammer and The Anvil and and find a trail blazer. ( )