Seized in West Africa and forced into slavery as a child, Phillis Wheatley (1753-84) was sold to a merchant family in Boston, where she became a noted poet at a young age. Admired by George Washington and published in London, Wheatley was for a few years the most famous Black person in the world. In this New York Times Notable Book, David Waldstreicher offers a fresh account of Wheatley's life and works, correcting myths, and deepening our understanding of her verse and the revolutionary era.