William "Billy" Cravens was unlike anything the Virginia frontier had ever seen. Once a fierce drinker and brawler, Cravens converted to Christianity and became a traveling Methodist preacher who - if the situation called for it - administered severe physical punishment to those foolish enough to call him out. Cravens (1766-1826) was equally fearless in the pulpit. He was passionate in his hatred of slavery and used the pulpit to routinely heap abuse on both the institution and slaveholders alike. This 1869 biography by the Rev. J.B. Wakeley paints a lively portrait of this hellfire and brimstone Methodist preacher and, in the process, gives us a rare glimpse into what life was like along the Virginia frontier in the early 1800s. Long out of print, this revived edition of "The Bold Frontier Preacher" is a valuable addition to the canon of works memorializing America's pioneers.