What do you think?
Rate this book
Leaders in Action
Then Darkness Fled: The Liberating Wisdom of Booker T. Washington
At a time when Booker T. Washington is being rediscovered by African Americans today, the author offers a compelling look at the man and the qualities of leadership he embodied in his life and work. The result is a timeless message of hope, empowerment, and responsibility, which Washington himself characterized as the training of head, heart, and hand.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
2 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Mansfield
96 books158 followersStephen Mansfield is a New York Times bestselling author and a popular speaker who is becoming one of the nation’s most respected voices on religion and American culture. He is also an activist in a variety of social causes.
Stephen was born in Georgia but grew up largely in Europe due to his father’s career as an officer in the United States Army. After a youth filled with sports, travel, and mischief, he was recruited to play college football but turned down the opportunity when a Christian conversion moved him to attend a leading Christian college.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy and then moved to Texas where he pastored a church, completed two Master’s degrees, hosted a radio show and began acquiring a reputation as a popular speaker of both depth and humor. He moved to Tennessee in 1991 where he again pastored a church, did relief work among the Kurds in Northern Iraq, served as a political consultant, and completed a doctorate.
It was during this time that he also launched the writing career for which he has become internationally known. His first book on Winston Churchill was a Gold Medallion Award Finalist. He also wrote widely-acclaimed biographies of Booker T. Washington and George Whitefield as well as a number of other books on history and leadership. In 1997, the Governor of Tennessee commissioned Mansfield to write the official history of religion in Tennessee for that state’s bicentennial.
In 2002, Stephen left the pastorate after twenty fruitful years to write and lecture full-time. Not long afterward he wrote The Faith of George W. Bush, which spent many weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and won numerous national awards. The book also became a source for Oliver Stone’s internationally acclaimed film W, which chronicled Bush’s rise to the presidency.
This international bestseller led to a string of influential books over the following eight years. Stephen wrote The Faith of the American Soldier after being embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq. He also wrote about the new Pope in Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission. His book The Faith of Barack Obama was another international bestseller and was often a topic in major media during the presidential campaign of 2008. To answer the crumbling values of portions of corporate America, he wrote The Search for God and Guinness and soon found himself speaking to corporate gatherings around the world.
Stephen continues to write books about faith and culture—recently on topics like Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey and America’s generals—but beyond his writing career he has founded The Mansfield Group, a successful consulting and communications firm, as well as Chartwell Literary Group, a firm that creates and manages literary projects. Together with his wife, Beverly, Mansfield has created The Global Leadership Development Fund, a foundation that sponsors leadership training and networking around the world.
In recent years, Stephen’s popularity as a speaker has nearly eclipsed his reputation as a bestselling author. He is often to be found addressing a university gathering, a corporate retreat or a fundraising banquet and stirring his audience with the humor and storytelling that have become his trademark.
Mansfield lives primarily in Nashville, Tennessee, with his beloved wife, Beverly, who is an award-winning songwriter and producer. For more information, log onto MansfieldGroup.com.
Stephen was born in Georgia but grew up largely in Europe due to his father’s career as an officer in the United States Army. After a youth filled with sports, travel, and mischief, he was recruited to play college football but turned down the opportunity when a Christian conversion moved him to attend a leading Christian college.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy and then moved to Texas where he pastored a church, completed two Master’s degrees, hosted a radio show and began acquiring a reputation as a popular speaker of both depth and humor. He moved to Tennessee in 1991 where he again pastored a church, did relief work among the Kurds in Northern Iraq, served as a political consultant, and completed a doctorate.
It was during this time that he also launched the writing career for which he has become internationally known. His first book on Winston Churchill was a Gold Medallion Award Finalist. He also wrote widely-acclaimed biographies of Booker T. Washington and George Whitefield as well as a number of other books on history and leadership. In 1997, the Governor of Tennessee commissioned Mansfield to write the official history of religion in Tennessee for that state’s bicentennial.
In 2002, Stephen left the pastorate after twenty fruitful years to write and lecture full-time. Not long afterward he wrote The Faith of George W. Bush, which spent many weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and won numerous national awards. The book also became a source for Oliver Stone’s internationally acclaimed film W, which chronicled Bush’s rise to the presidency.
This international bestseller led to a string of influential books over the following eight years. Stephen wrote The Faith of the American Soldier after being embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq. He also wrote about the new Pope in Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission. His book The Faith of Barack Obama was another international bestseller and was often a topic in major media during the presidential campaign of 2008. To answer the crumbling values of portions of corporate America, he wrote The Search for God and Guinness and soon found himself speaking to corporate gatherings around the world.
Stephen continues to write books about faith and culture—recently on topics like Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey and America’s generals—but beyond his writing career he has founded The Mansfield Group, a successful consulting and communications firm, as well as Chartwell Literary Group, a firm that creates and manages literary projects. Together with his wife, Beverly, Mansfield has created The Global Leadership Development Fund, a foundation that sponsors leadership training and networking around the world.
In recent years, Stephen’s popularity as a speaker has nearly eclipsed his reputation as a bestselling author. He is often to be found addressing a university gathering, a corporate retreat or a fundraising banquet and stirring his audience with the humor and storytelling that have become his trademark.
Mansfield lives primarily in Nashville, Tennessee, with his beloved wife, Beverly, who is an award-winning songwriter and producer. For more information, log onto MansfieldGroup.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 30, 2022
Booker T Washington was a great man of faith and wisdom - wisdom not recognized by everyone during his time and, as a result, his contributions to his race and our country have often been overlooked.
Here is a man that was born into slavery, learned to live as a free man, and worked hard to build a bridge between the races. He was the first black man to dine with the President and have tea with the Queen. He was often disliked by both races but he kept working to show both races what they could accomplish.
Sometimes we tend to look at historical figures and hold them to a higher standard than to which we hold ourselves and then when we see their frailties, we discard the whole of them but Washington truly did live that standard.
Here is a man that was born into slavery, learned to live as a free man, and worked hard to build a bridge between the races. He was the first black man to dine with the President and have tea with the Queen. He was often disliked by both races but he kept working to show both races what they could accomplish.
Sometimes we tend to look at historical figures and hold them to a higher standard than to which we hold ourselves and then when we see their frailties, we discard the whole of them but Washington truly did live that standard.
October 5, 2017
Mansfield offers an intimate look into the life of Booker T. Washington. The first half of the book presents a biographical account of Washington's life, and the second half is more a reflection on the prominent themes of his life. It is worth a read, particularly if someone is interested in learning about how he rose to a place of historical significance globally.
May 5, 2019
Pretty good. Not very critical though and somewhat hagiographical.
November 13, 2020
Excellent story .... very applicable for today!!!
April 30, 2012
this is such a needed piece of American history to understand! Booker basically taught the idea that the best way for Negroes to make their way in a society which still had some racial prejudices was to become winsome, hard-working and do a Jesus said: love your enemies.
Instead, many other black thinkers of the day such as W.E.B. Du Bois put out all this us versus them rhetoric.
I wish Booker's ideas had caught on more and I hope they still catch on in the future!
Instead, many other black thinkers of the day such as W.E.B. Du Bois put out all this us versus them rhetoric.
I wish Booker's ideas had caught on more and I hope they still catch on in the future!
August 3, 2013
I didn't know much (besides general information) about Booker T. Washington, but the more I read this book, the more I sympathized with his situations. I felt connected to him and learned more about how he dealt with struggles during his time period. This book was extremely educational and eye-opening.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews