John Brown (Modern Library Classics)

Book Description

A moving cultural biography of abolitionist martyr John Brown, by one of the most important African-American intellectuals of the twentieth century.

In the history of slavery and its legacy, John Brown looms large as a hero whose deeds partly precipitated the Civil War. As Frederick Douglass wrote: "When John Brown stretched forth his arm ... the clash of arms was at hand." DuBois's biography brings Brown stirringly to life and is a neglected classic.

Customer Reviews:

Strike the Blow.......2006-02-04

Please note that the substance of the following review has been
used in the review of Stephen Oates's book To Purge This Land in Blood reviewed elsewhere (click see all my reviews). Both books offer a good prospective on the life of John Brown and can be profitably read together. Dubois's book is a decent historical narrative of Brown's life from an earlier time and in a more partisan perspective. Oates book reflects more modern academic methods of analysis and research and tackles the weaknesses in other interpretations. In that sense, Oates book is close to the definitive study of John Brown's life. Most importantly, both books reflect a Northern view of Brown exploits previously long absent from the historical record. My review reflects the need to study an important American fighter for justice and for today's generation to learn some lessons from his life.

I would like to make a few comments on the role of Captain John Brown and his struggle at Harper's Ferry in 1859 in the history of the black liberation struggle. This appropriate as I am writing this review during Black History Month of 2006. Unfortunately John Brown continues to remain one of the very few white heroes of the struggle for black liberation.

From fairly early in my youth I knew the name John Brown and was swept up by the romance surrounding his exploits at Harpers Ferry. For example, I knew that the great anthem of the Civil War -The Battle Hymn of the Republic had a prior existence as a tribute to John Brown. I, however, was then neither familiar with the import of his exploits for the black liberation struggle nor knew much about the specifics of the politics of the various tendencies in the struggle against slavery. I certainly knew nothing then of Brown's (and his sons) prior military exploits in the Kansas wars against the expansion of slavery. If one understands the ongoing nature of his commitment to struggle one can only conclude that his was indeed a man on a mission. Those exploits also render absurd a very convenient myth about his `madness'. This is a political man and to these eyes a very worthy one. In the context of the turmoil of the times he was only the most courageous and audacious revolutionary in the struggle against the abolition of slavery in America.

Whether or not John Brown knew that his strategy would, in the short term, be defeated is a matter of dispute. Reams of paper have been spent proving the military foolhardiness of his scheme at Harper's Ferry. This missing the essential political point that militant action not continuing parliamentary maneuvering advocated by other abolitionists had become necessary. What is not in dispute is that Brown considered himself a true Calvinist avenging angel in the struggle against slavery and more importantly acted on that belief. In short, he was committed to bring justice to the black masses. This is why his exploits and memory stay alive after over 150 years.

Brown and his small integrated band of brothers fought bravely and coolly against great odds. Ten of Brown's men were killed including two of his sons. Five were captured, tried and executed, including Brown. These results are almost inevitable when one takes up a revolutionary struggle against the old order and one is not victorious. One need only think of, for example, the fate of the defenders of the Paris Commune in 1871. One can fault Brown on this or that tactical maneuver. Nevertheless he and the others bore themselves bravely in defeat. As we are all too painfully familiar there are defeats of the oppressed that lead nowhere. One thinks of the defeat of the Chinese Revolution in the 1920's. There other defeats that galvanize others into action. This is how Brown's actions should be measured by history.

Militarily defeated at Harpers Ferry, Brown's political mission to destroy slavery by force of arms nevertheless continued to galvanize important elements in the North at the expense of the pacifistic non-resistant Garrisonian political program for struggle against slavery. Many writers on Brown who reduce his actions to that of a `madman' still cannot believe that his road proved more appropriate to end slavery than either non-resistance or gradualism. That alone makes short shrift of such theories. Historians and others have misinterpreted later events such as the Bolshevik strategy which led to Russian Revolution in October 1917. More recently, we saw this same incomprehension concerning the victory of the Vietnamese against overwhelming military superior forces. Needless to say, all these events continue to be revised by some historians to take the sting out of there proper political implications.

From a modern prospective Brown's strategy for black liberation, even if the abolitionist goal he aspired to was immediately successful reached the outer limits within the confines of capitalism. Brown's actions were meant to make black people free. Beyond that goal he had no program. Unfortunately the Civil War did not provide fundamental economic and political freedom. That is still our fight. Moreover, the Civil War, the defeat of Radical Reconstruction, the reign of `Jim Crow' and the subsequent waves of black migration to the cities changed the character of black oppression in the U.S.from Brown's time. Black people are now a part of "free labor," and the key to their liberation is in the integrated fight of labor and its allies to establish a government in the intersts of working people. And as Malcolm X said by whatever means it takes Nevertheless, we can stand proudly in the revolutionary tradition of John Brown (and of his friend Frederick Douglass). We need to complete the unfinished democratic tasks of the Civil War, not by emulating Brown's exemplary actions but to moving the multi-racial American working class to power. We must know our history. Read this book and find out why.

John Brown: What a great guy.......2005-12-14

The story of John Brown depicts the life of the famous abolitionist as a loving father of more than a dozen children, husband, and anti-slavery hero. His plots at Harper's Ferry and Kansas are described in great depth, making you feel as if you were a part of his heroic effort to abolish slavery.
From his youth when he first encounters a slave, to his brave efforts to save Kansas, up until his death as a martyr he is portrayed as the very passionate man. While reading, I especially enjoyed the interactions John Brown had with other abolitionists. In particular, the first time he meets Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass and Brown's first encounter is in Brown's house, John's tells Douglass of his plans at Harper's Ferry. Douglass says of Brown, " some men made such display of rigid virtue, I should have rejected it as affected, false, and hypocritical, but in John Brown, I felt it to be real as iron or granite." It was neat to see that such celebrated people had so much respect for one another.
The numerous quotes and references make it seem as though you are sitting in the same room as the famed abolitionist. However, with all the dates, people and places it is easy to lose track of everything.
Du Bois's biography is perfect for the history buff or anyone who is studying the Civil War in general and I highly recommend it. Read it to find out the truth behind the failed revolt at Harper's Ferry and learn more about a man who shaped our country.

John Brown: An American Hero.......2004-08-11

John Brown is often times overlooked as one of America's greatest heroes. His raid on Harper's Ferry was one of the most influential causes for the outbreak of the Civil War. Although the immediate effects of the war were greatly devastating, it hurtled the U.S. over the slavery issue and forward into the future.

Du Bois's biography gives a lengthy & descriptive account of the rebel's life and touched on a lot of info that I was unaware of. Definitely a must-buy for all those studying John Brown specifically, or the Civil War in general.

j. brown.......2002-07-12

good book. he uses a lot of good quotes directly from john brown. recommended

An Amazing Man.......2002-05-07

John Brown, one of the most influential and important people of his time and of ours is captured by soul in this book. He is my great great great great great grandfather, which i know sounds a little off-the-wall, but even though he is so far down the line, i am still very proud of it. Keep his story alive, this man deserves appreciation.

To Purge This Land With Blood: A Biography of John Brown

Average customer rating:

Very Good Book
Solid history and decent prose.
Strike the Blow- The Story of a Revolutionary Abolitionist
The research is showing
You don't know John Brown

To Purge This Land With Blood: A Biography of John Brown
Stephen B. Oates
Manufacturer: University of Massachusetts Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0870234587

Customer Reviews:

Very Good Book.......2007-10-04

Having read this author's biography of Lincoln (Malice Toward None) I was so impressed with his writing style and story telling that I wanted to stick with him.

This book reads well. I recommend it. I enjoyed it. The book reads like a novel and seemed fairly comprehensive, thought it's under 400 pages and moves along at a comfortable pace. It provides plenty of food for thought about Brown. Having always heard that Brown was a mad-man, I was pleased to find that his story is much more than that.

As far as dismissing John Brown as a crazy, consider how many renowned people of his day he befriended and persuaded to back his endeavors! Were they all crazy too?

The book revealed for me the political / social / religious dynamics of those wild times in a meaningful way. If the issue of John Brown comes up for discussion, I now feel confident to participate.

Solid history and decent prose........2007-06-22

There are a lot of books on Brown, for good reason. He is a fascinating figure, a sort of mythical creature. Many books dumb this aspect down through their soggy prose and endless fact-logging, but the prose in this book is not too bad. Oates doesn't relate too much worthless information, which is common in the social sciences. I remember reading one Brown biography that debated whether his cabin was made out of pine or oak. Many historians cannot understand that not all pieces of information were created equal.

Seriously though, the prose here is decent and the history seems fairly accurate. There are some passages that are poetic in their way, and I was affected by many aspects of Brown's personality and U.S. History that Oates managed to describe quite well. Times of revolution can make for excellent reading, especially when the world today seems very difficult to change. Brown tried to change it, and in the minds of many, he did. So, for those unfamiliar with Brown, he makes for a good story.

It is obvious at times that Oates is angling to not "alienate" the Southern reader. He talks about how Southerners "had a right to be scared" and makes the argument that slavery-accepting Southerners were not such bad people, etc. Racism was widespread, only slightly less so in the North, so this is partially reasonable. However, there is hardly any material about how disgusting slavery really was. There are good reasons that John Brown was violently opposed. Basically, Oates is trying to be "balanced." What that means is he is giving both sides of the argument, even when one of them has been proven to be self-evidently stronger. Slavery was wrong, and it died out, and good riddance to the Southerners who accepted and perpetuated it.

If you want to read about how nasty slavery really was, and I recommend that you do if you are open-minded about judging characters such as Brown, then you can start with some of the slave narratives, for example the narratives of Frederick Douglass and Mary Prince.

John Brown was one of the few people who doesn't just stand around and watch while injustices abound. He acts, and that is the reason that many cannot stand him. He is a profoundly moral person, and that is threatening to people who are not. They cannot understand that it is better to kill a thousand men then to let millions rot in slavery.

Highly recommended, just don't get thrown off by the "balance."

Strike the Blow- The Story of a Revolutionary Abolitionist.......2006-02-05

Please note that the substance of the following review has been used in the review of W.B. Dubois's book on John Brown reviewed elsewhere. Both books offer a good prospective on the life of John Brown and can be profitably read together. Dubois's book is a decent historical narrative of Brown's life from an earlier time and in a more partisan perspective. Oates book reflects more modern academic methods of analysis and research and tackles the weaknesses in other interpretations. In that sense, Oates book is close to the definitive study of John Brown's life. Most importantly, both books reflect a Northern view of Brown exploits previously long absent from the historical record. My review reflects the need to study an important American fighter for justice and for today's generation to learn some lessons from his life.

I would like to make a few comments on the role of Captain John Brown and his struggle at Harper's Ferry in 1859 in the history of the black liberation struggle. This is appropriate as I am writing this review during Black History Month of 2006. Unfortunately John Brown continues to remain one of the very few white heroes of the revolutionary struggle for black liberation.

From fairly early in my youth I knew the name John Brown and was swept up by the romance surrounding his exploits at Harpers Ferry. For example, I knew that the great anthem of the Civil War -The Battle Hymn of the Republic had a prior existence as a tribute to John Brown. I, however, was then neither familiar with the import of his exploits for the black liberation struggle nor knew much about the specifics of the politics of the various tendencies in the struggle against slavery. I certainly knew nothing then of Brown's (and his sons) prior military exploits in the Kansas wars against the expansion of slavery. If one understands the ongoing nature of his commitment to struggle one can only conclude that his was indeed a man on a mission. Those exploits also render absurd a very convenient myth about his `madness'. This is a political man and to these eyes a very worthy one. In the context of the turmoil of the times he was only the most courageous and audacious revolutionary in the struggle against the abolition of slavery in America.

Whether or not John Brown knew that his strategy would, in the short term, be defeated is a matter of dispute. Reams of paper have been spent proving the military foolhardiness of his scheme at Harper's Ferry. This misses the essential political point that militant action- not continuing parliamentary maneuvering advocated by other abolitionists- had become necessary. What is not in dispute is that Brown considered himself a true Calvinist avenging angel in the struggle against slavery and more importantly acted on that belief. In short, he was committed to bring justice to the black masses. This is why his exploits and memory stay alive after over 150 years.

Brown and his small integrated band of brothers fought bravely and coolly against great odds. Ten of Brown's men were killed including two of his sons. Five were captured, tried and executed, including Brown. These results are almost inevitable when one takes up a revolutionary struggle against the old order and one is not victorious. One need only think of, for example, the fate of the defenders of the Paris Commune in 1871. One can fault Brown on this or that tactical maneuver. Nevertheless he and the others bore themselves bravely in defeat. As we are all too painfully familiar there are defeats of the oppressed that lead nowhere. One thinks of the defeat of the Chinese Revolution in the 1920's. There other defeats that galvanize others into action. This is how Brown's actions should be measured by history.

Militarily defeated at Harpers Ferry, Brown's political mission to destroy slavery by force of arms nevertheless continued to galvanize important elements in the North at the expense of the pacifistic non-resistant Garrisonian political program for struggle against slavery. Many writers on Brown who reduce his actions to that of a `madman' still cannot believe that his road proved more appropriate to end slavery than either non-resistance or gradualism. That alone makes short shrift of such theories. Historians and others have misinterpreted later events such as the Bolshevik strategy which led to Russian Revolution in October 1917. More recently, we saw this same incomprehension concerning the victory of the Vietnamese against overwhelming military superior forces. Needless to say, all these events continue to be revised by some historians to take the sting out of there proper political implications.

The research is showing.......2001-03-12

In the preface of his book, author Oates states it is not his intention to determine the mental capabilities of his subject, abolitionist John Brown. But, he certainly paints a vivid enough picture so the reader can determine for himself if Brown is a crazy old coot, a cold blooded murderer, or a man on a mighty mission or a combination of all three. I had just read Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks (a fictionalized version of Brown's life; see my review) and it made me want to read a real biography of Brown. If anything, this book made me appreciate Banks' immagination even more. To Purge This Land with Blood is a very detailed account of Brown's life, maybe too detailed. Every character, no matter how inconsequential, is named. And this sea of names and places can be mindboggling. I found much of the book slow going and already knowing the outcome of Brown's life didn't compel me to move on quickly. But, after reading the book, I now believe I now know Brown. And isn't that the purpose of biography?

You don't know John Brown.......1999-11-29

If you were, like I was, taught that John Brown was not much more than a well-meaning madman then you don't know the John Brown of history. Oates does a great job of dispelling that myth as well as presenting for the first time the full picture, thoroughly footnoted, of the man who may have sparked the Civil War. I have small gripes with some of the text, but none worth mentioning here. Read it and be impressed.

John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights

Average customer rating:

When is a fanatic not a fanatic?
Informative, a bit long, not as objective as one would hope
Relatively decent understanding of Brown, poor understanding of his times.
A frustrating read
If only Doris Kearns Goodwin had written this book

John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights
David S. Reynolds
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375726152
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Book Description

An authoritative new examination of John Brown and his deep impact on American history.

Bancroft Prize-winning cultural historian David S. Reynolds presents an informative and richly considered new exploration of the paradox of a man steeped in the Bible but more than willing to kill for his abolitionist cause. Reynolds locates Brown within the currents of nineteenth-century life and compares him to modern terrorists, civil-rights activists, and freedom fighters. Ultimately, he finds neither a wild-eyed fanatic nor a Christ-like martyr, but a passionate opponent of racism so dedicated to eradicating slavery that he realized only blood could scour it from the country he loved. By stiffening the backbone of Northerners and showing Southerners there were those who would fight for their cause, he hastened the coming of the Civil War. This is a vivid and startling story of a man and an age on the verge of calamity.

Customer Reviews:

When is a fanatic not a fanatic?.......2007-08-13

Highly enjoyable read. Not written at arm's length; It's clear that Reynolds "gets" John Brown and the age he lived in, so his heart and imagination are fully engaged as he writes. He doesn't hide Brown's humanity however. What bothered me the most was that Brown seemed to harden his heart toward his wounded son at Harpers Ferry. (How it appeared to observers apparently.)

All in all though Thoreau and Emerson got it right when they quickly came to his defense after Harpers Ferry. Thoreau compared Brown on the scaffold to Christ on the cross.

If Brown had died at Harpers Ferry before the country could hear his defense and see the greatness of his character--his every word and behavior a challenge to the country to throw off the evils of slavery--history would no doubt have been different. Reynolds is redeeming Brown from neglect and misunderstanding to his rightful place as a heroic patriarch and patriot of America.

In our age when "true believers" are highly suspect, Brown's character and long-contemplated actions shine as an example of exactly how and when a "fanatic" is not a fanatic. Brown founded a community where blacks and whites lived together as equals. He lived out his religious and political beliefs fully, whole-heartedly, yet included others of different beliefs in his inner circle (his first lieutenant was an atheist).

I read mostly library books; this one I bought and buy for others.

Informative, a bit long, not as objective as one would hope.......2007-02-24

David S. Reynolds background as a Professor of English Literature shows in this book: although focused on John Brown's life, you can see Professor Reynolds' interest in Mid 19th century literature on almost every page, with frequent and extensive discourses on John Browns' interactions-with and impact on many of the well known authors and orators of the day, such as Walt Whitman, Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Melville, and Emily Dickinson.

In general, Reynolds makes the argument that John Brown sparked the Civil War, and that he was a high minded, intensely religious man who was not as crazy, and not as violent, as history has led us to believe. He further argues that Brown was a man a century or more ahead of his time in terms of his attitudes towards racism, and foresaw where the war of words between the North and South over the future of slavery would inevitably lead.

Reynolds does a great job of helping us better understand Brown as a person; and brings to light many facets of his personality and life of which I'd been unaware, such as Brown's total acceptance of African Americans as equals in every respect - a stance that few, if any, whites had at the time (and is a viewpoint that is not as widely accepted as it should be, even today). The author demonstrates, quite rightly, that most other abolitionists of the time were not so much pro-African-American as they were against slavery and its impact upon America. Many were at best dismissive, and at worst rabidly against, accepting blacks as equals.

Reynolds comes across as an apologist for Brown, and seems to be attempting to justify some of Brown's bloodiest and most violent actions as merely being the unavoidable side effects of a man consumed with a passion against slavery. Those side effects included the deaths of several of his sons.

The book's pace is not the best, and hits some really slow spots here and there: especially when it reaches the aftermath of the Harper Ferry raid, where the author launches into a very extensive discourse on the impact of John Brown (and his execution) on American literature, thought, society and politics - again with a focus on the writers and orators of the day. These last chapters could have been reduced in length by half or more, with little loss in terms of content.

I question the author's repeated and strong emphasis on John Brown's strong Puritan faith as being a basis for his actions: this refrain starts to sound hollow after so many repetitions - as if he's hoping we'll get the message if he hits us with it enough times. As an inheritor of several centuries of that same Puritan tradition myself, many of his arguments concerning Brown's faith seem (at best) forced and overstated.

Reynolds' argument that John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was the spark that started the Civil War is also overstated: While I think the raid certainly contributed to the paranoia of the time, particularly in the South, Reynolds' arguments that John Brown's attack and behavior following the raid destroyed the South's reputation for chilvalric military prowess and invincibility is not believable. The war was inevitable: Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry may have raised emotions, but the South was already diligently preparing for war by the time the raid occurred. The attack, at best, hurried things along a bit, but in my view, the country was almost certain to fall apart soon after the election of 1860, regardless of who won the Presidency.

In the end, though with some significant flaws in terms of pacing, facts, and the arguments presented; this book is informative: it does bring out the nature of the man, and it helped me better appreciate his impact on the country and History. Dr. Reynolds' work especially helps us to understand Brown's impact upon many of the thought-leaders of the day, and how regional attitudes and cultural traditions played into the unfolding of events at the time and their impact on John Brown's own career and reputation during the trial, and in the years following his execution.

To better understand how racism changed and evolved after the Civil War, I'd strongly recommend the book "Race and Reunion" by David W. Blight. For a better understanding of the four regional cultures in America at the time (Appalachian, Southern, New England and Mid Atlantic), which play a major role in Reynold's text, I'd recommend "Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America" by David Hackett Fischer.

"John Brown, Abolitionist" is a book that is worth the read, though its flaws limit the impact that it could have made, given the strong personality that is its subject. I give it a positive, but limited, recommendation.

Relatively decent understanding of Brown, poor understanding of his times. .......2007-01-31

Overall this book does not contribute significantly to an understanding of John Brown and his times. The strength of the book is within Reynolds grasp of Browns personal character. Reynolds convincingly demonstrates that John Brown was not crazy, at least from a clinical perspective. Also important is the way the book shapes how Brown's Calvinist views affected his own worldview. However, Reynolds often times errors in his analysis through his overt affinity for Brown. For instance, Reynolds too often takes Brown at his word, such as on the limited nature of his Harper's Ferry raid despite the solid evidence suggesting otherwise. If one wanted to understand the life of John Brown a much better choice of book would be Stephen Oates' biography on Brown.

As far as understanding Brown within the context of his time, this book hugely disappoints. Reynolds is not a historian and it shows (he is a professor of English). Even if we ignore the absurd contention that Brown had anything to do with the Civil Rights movement, there is plenty of reason to believe Brown had nothing more than a negligible effect on the coming of the Civil War.

From an epistemological standpoint, Reynolds is contending a revisionist interpretation as the cause for the Civil War (a war that could have been avoided had it not been for extremists on both sides). The key difference is that while typically revisionists see the war as a tragic consequence of blundering politicians among the free soil and fire-eater persuasion, Reynolds puts all the blame (or praise in this case) on John Brown. This of course ignores the traditional interpretation that sees the conflict as irrepressible. However, both schools of thought agree that events leading to Civil War were well put in place prior to Brown's raid in 1859. The Missouri Compromise, acquisition of Western lands from the Mexican war, the Compromise (or `armistice') of 1850, Kansas Nebraska Act, bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott decision, and the Lecompton dispute, all significantly call into question Reynold's assertion that sectional hostilities were relatively tranquil prior to John Brown's raid. Perhaps one of Reynold's biggest blunders was emphasizing the significance of the abolitionist movement in the coming of the Civil War while completely ignoring the emergence of the much more significant free-soil Republican Party.

While the book does a relatively decent job of presenting Brown as a person, Stephen Oates remains the Brown standard bearer. As for the larger picture, Reynolds demonstrates a dismal understanding of antebellum politics.

A frustrating read.......2006-11-09

I expected Reynolds to write fluidly and clearly but he does not. The book turned out to be about two hundred pages too long. There aren't normal notes and many times I checked for them when I wanted to check a claim and found no note. His insensitivity to the role of Calvinism in Brown makes him overgeneralize claims and misidentify Brown as simply a Puritan. The book is marred by stylistic flaws that frustrate the reader and make the read an arduous one. In the end, it makes for an interesting even if one that makes the reader frustrated at the storyteller.

If only Doris Kearns Goodwin had written this book.......2006-04-05

In an epidsode of the PBS series History Detectives, host Tukufu Zuben expressed his idolatry of John Brown. Idolize someone who cut five men to pieces? After reading David Reynolds' bio of Brown, I know more about this intriguing figure of American history but haven't changed my negative stance on Zuben's high opinion of the maniacal but fascinating John Brown.

The book is readable but clearly not penned by a superb writer capable of bringing John Brown alive inside the reader's head. There is much - sometimes too much - detail (a weakness common to many historians), and he uses far too many passive sentences. Reynolds also has the annoyingly bad literary habit of pointlessly relating the outcome of key future events well before he details them. I found Reynolds' focus on the Trancendentalist connection tenuous since Emerson et al knew Brown only after he had committed to a life of violence and gained fame for it. It is also the most boring part of the book. The Cromwellian influence on Brown's life is a bit more believable since Brown had a copy of Cromwell's biography in his collection but still seems to be a stretch and isn't any more interesting. Reynolds is on firmer ground in describing Brown as one of the first Abolitionists who struck back.

I would ask Mr. Reynolds' why he did not delve into Brown's history as an economic loser. While Reynolds describes Brown's failure at every job he ever undertook, he refuses to recognize it as motivation for violence. Throughout history many extremists were personal failures who struck out at society, a description that aptly fits Brown. Also, Reynolds almost glosses over the slaughter at Pottawatomie and gives sparse emphasis to the post-traumatic stress suffered by several of Brown's murdering band. Justifying a slaughter, particularly one so calculated, just doesn't fly.

In spite of this rather negative review, I recommend the book both for its in-depth portrait of John Brown's life and its readibility. If Ms. Goodwin had written it, however, it would have been a giant of a work.

Average customer rating:

John Brown: One Man Against Slavery
Gwen Everett
Manufacturer: Rizzoli International Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0847817024
Release Date: 1993-04-15

Patriotic Treason: John Brown and the Soul of America

Average customer rating:

Maybe true evil sometimes requires an equal response
Superb
A telling of Brown's life that leaves space for you to decide what to make of this complex man
Not a madman
Splendid Book

Patriotic Treason: John Brown and the Soul of America
Evan Carton
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 074327136X

Book Description

John Brown is a lightning rod of history. Yet he is poorly understood and most commonly described in stereotypes -- as a madman, martyr, or enigma. Not until Patriotic Treason has a biography or history brought him so fully to life, in scintillating prose and moving detail, making his life and legacy -- and the staggering sacrifices he made for his ideals-fascinatingly relevant to today's issues of social justice and to defining the line between activism and terrorism.

Vividly re-creating the world in which Brown and his compatriots lived with a combination of scrupulous original research, new perspectives, and a sensitive historical imagination, Patriotic Treason narrates the dramatic life of the first U.S. citizen committed to absolute racial equality. Here are his friendships (Brown lived, worked, ate, and fought alongside African Americans, in defiance of the culture around him), his family (he turned his twenty children by two wives into a dedicated militia), and his ideals (inspired by the Declaration of Independence and the Golden Rule, he collaborated with black leaders such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Delany, and Harriet Tubman to overthrow slavery).

Evan Carton captures the complex, tragic, and provocative story of Brown the committed abolitionist, Brown the tender yet demanding and often absent father and husband, and Brown the radical American patriot who attacked the American state in the name of American principles. Through new research into archives, attention to overlooked family letters, and reinterpretation of documents and events, Carton essentially reveals a missing link in American history.

A wrenching family saga, Patriotic Treason positions John Brown at the heart of our most profound and enduring national debates. As definitions of patriotism and treason are fiercely contested, as some criticize religious extremism while others mourn religion's decline, and as race relations in America remain unresolved, John Brown's story speaks to us as never before, reminding us that one courageous individual can change the course of history.

Customer Reviews:

Maybe true evil sometimes requires an equal response.......2007-09-27

A balanced biography of a complex man, "Patriotic Treason", is both scholarly and involving. A rich, anecdote-laden text, it easily moves between chronicling the life of abolitionist John Brown and describing the larger tapestry of American life in the 1850s.

The book is chockful of dramatic scenes and thematic discussions, including- as pointed out in the other Amazon reviews of this book- the question of whether it's acceptable and perhaps even a moral obligation to sometimes break the law in favor of a greater good. Mr. Carton covers the question well, quoting leading figures of the time who address that very question in response to Mr. Brown's well-publicized actions.

The book is sobering at times, and not just for the expected reasons (like being reminded again of how terribly slaves were treated or how much widespread support there was for slavery in this supposed land of liberty). No, what I found surprising is that among whites who didn't like slavery and even among outright abolitionists, there was very little use or affection for blacks. Most just wanted them deported or resettled somewhere else, where they wouldn't compete for American jobs or mingle with the more "refined" white race.

John Brown, on the other hand, actively befriended blacks all his life, had them over to his house for dinner with his family (unprecedented!), humbly solicited advice from his black friends on a variety of matters, and regularly interacted with blacks in all kinds of other "normal" ways. For John Brown, abolition wasn't just the right answer to an academic question or a detached moral opinion that had little to do with one's daily life. John Brown lived his anti-slavery views because he lived side by side with blacks every day. Whatever excesses Mr. Brown may or may not have undertaken later when he put his anti-slavery views into action, that fact scored points with me.

If you check out my other Amazon reviews, you'll see that I don't read a lot of biographies or memoirs, but every now and then I dive into one. I'm really glad "Patriotic Treason" grabbed my attention. It illuminates a shameful part of U.S. history and again debunks the tired mantra among many that we need to return to the values of our historical past. No, many of those "values" should stay in the past where they belong. It was a dark, evil time in many ways, and John Brown played a huge part in helping this country move beyond it.

Superb.......2007-01-03

And...written by a Texan, too! Every detail of Brown's life is told here, from his humble beginnings to his single-handed start of the Civil War. Worth the 15 hours unabridged.

A telling of Brown's life that leaves space for you to decide what to make of this complex man.......2006-12-16

John Brown's attempt to free slaves by sparking a national uprising through the assault on the Harpers Ferry in October 1859 was a complete and utter failure when measured by how quickly they were thwarted, how many of Brown's men died in the attempt or by execution. Yet, his communications during his trial and from prison galvanized the hardest of abolitionists in the north (including the Transcendentalists such as Emerson and Thoreau) and the secessionists in the south. More than a few people believe it was the reaction to this raid that set events in process that led to the ferocious bloodshed of the Civil War less than eighteen months later.

Was Brown a madman acting in a crazed spasm or emotion? That judgment has changed radically in the near century and a half since his execution. Immediately afterward, the largest popular reaction was negative because it was lawless and was an assault on the Federal Government. Some of the most extreme abolitionists did hold him up as a kind of messianic figure. When I was in high school, he was regarded as someone hardly worth mentioning. He was clearly crazed and criminal to boot. In the past decade several books and documentaries have taken another look and come to a much more favorable view of Brown. Some even see him much as the Transcendentalists talked about him right after he was hanged.

Evan Carton focuses more on the life of Brown and only gets into the societal issues in a couple of places. He does a fine job in keeping the life Brown lived front and center rather than letting it stand for whatever his supporters or detractors would have it be. Carton trusts the reader enough to let him decide for himself. This is quite important for the modern reader who likely knows little about Brown because of the issues his life raises for our own time. Is a private choice to violence ever justified? Certainly slavery was a great evil. Was Brown justified? Would or could slavery have been eradicated in the United States as it was elsewhere in the European Empires without war?

If you answer that slavery was so evil that Brown was justified how do you say that someone who is trying to prevent millions of abortions is wrong? Or someone who wants to retain affirmative action? Or whatever else drives their personal conscience to extreme action? If you say that Brown was not justified, how do you avoid the guilt of slavery? Weren't the millions of souls in bondage worth fighting for? Should they have been left as chattel property for another decade or two or another century until things could work themselves out?

I guess my own view is a cheat on the question. I do not condone private violence and believe that those who blow up abortion clinics or violently attack Federal installations actually help their opponents more than their cause. Brown was so fervent and articulate that his passion moved a great many people. If he had stepped forward more as a Frederick Douglass and engaged in demonstrations he would have probably accomplished more. But you can justly come to different conclusions than mine.

Brown was a man of great integrity to the point of rigidity. As a businessman his personal sense of what was right led him to drive customers away. He wouldn't sell leather until it was cured to his level of satisfaction even if the customer wanted it as it was. When he was selling wool, his own classifications mattered more to him than what his customers wanted to buy and what those he was an agent for wanted to sell. When he and his family were caught up in the Kansas War, he was clearly justified in protecting those who opposed letting the Missourian slave advocates run roughshod over the territorial government. The Missourians committed many atrocities and Brown was the man who taught the victims that they could stand up to their oppressors. Still, attacking and murdering people in the homes and hacking them to death with a sword still shocks us.

Brown was not an unfeeling man dispensing justice as if he were God. He was a man of deep passion who also knew pain and personal loss. Many of his children died in infancy or youth. He knew poverty and want. There is a tremendously moving scene when Brown is found flat on his Dianthe's, his first wife, grave crying in agony. And his last visit with his second wife especially when she has to leave him is also quite moving. Brown did what he did because he knew (that personal conviction problem again) that he was on God's work and was doing what God wanted him to do. And this despite the deep personal loss the mission brought him.

I recommend this book because I like the way Carton focuses on the life and leaves most of the commentary to you and because Brown's life raises issues that resonate in our time. The author does get in to the larger national issues in chapter 10 and in the aftermath of the execution in chapter thirteen. In the epilogue he shares a few of his own views that you might or might not accept. I also recommend it because one can never know too much about the Civil War and its origins. It was a cataclysm whose shockwaves still resonate underneath almost everything in our present national life.

There are some very good pictures in the book, but the one flaw I hope they correct in a subsequent edition is to provide a listing of the illustrations and their page numbers. Now you see them mixed in the text as you read, but if you want to find them later it becomes somewhat of a hunting game.

Not a madman.......2006-12-09

This is an excellent, thoroughly researched and referenced book by Evan Carton which is also a very gripping read. Even though the outcome is known, the book is hard to put down. But while the style is nearly novelistic, it is solidly factual. I read this book because I wanted to understand if the usual myths about Brown were correct - if he was indeed a madman. Carton shows him to be a deeply religious and principled man, and one whose reasoning was consistent with his values and with his understanding of the enormous injustice of slavery in nineteenth century America. Brown was an extremely effective fighter against the murderous "border ruffians" from Missouri who attempted to terrrorize free state settlers in Kansas. These Missourian slaveholders and their agents drove free-soil settlers away, burning and looting their settlements such as Lawrence, Kansas, fixing elections, and occasionally killing free-soil setlers, and bragging to "shoot, burn, and hang" abolitionsts, not believing the abolitionists or the free soil settlers(who often weren't abolitionists) would dare to fight back. Initially, they didn't. Brown did, with a very small force, and the reader may find his actions quite shocking. On some occasions his small force routed or captured gangs of the border ruffians who outnumbered them substantially. Brown's desire to accelerate the end of slavery, which he clearly saw as a odious blotch on the ideals which founded his country, led him eventually to more decisive action. Carton provides a clarification for his thought processes through his letters, meetings with sponsors and other associates, and the recollections of survivors after the raid on Harpers Ferry, and convinces that Brown's reasoning was sound, although it certainly was radical. Both before and after the raid, Carton shows us the Brown was confident of the positive effects of the raid even if it were a military failure. Ultimately, it was the notion of the slaveholders that they could indefinitely extend their profitable institution that proved to be madness.

Splendid Book.......2006-09-27

This is the first book that I've read about John Brown and I'm glad that I waited. Brown's story is a simply amazing one and Carton is the master of every detail. He writes very well, is excellent at telling a story, and, most significantly for me, he is well-versed in the historical period. He has deep knowledge about pre-Civil-War politics, intellectual life and social relations. And he integrates what he knows brilliantly into John Brown's story. Brown emerges as more than the leader of the raid at Harper's Ferry; in this book we come to understand his Christianity, his early life, his family, his values and most particularly his relations with black people, which were perhaps without precedent in America. The book is very moving, though quietly so: Carton doesn't shy away from being critical of John Brown, but eventually his esteem for Brown comes through and it's tough not to be sympathetic. The book was a great pleasure and I felt that I learned a lot from it about race relations past--and present, too.

Average customer rating:

Historical fiction at its unconventional best
A very important book
get this book and read it
Nothing less than terrific
Cloudtopper

Raising Holy Hell: A Novel
Bruce Olds
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805038566

Book Description

On October 16, 1859, John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, leaving 15 people dead. Viewed in the North as a saint of freedom and in the South as the devil incarnate, Brown was a visionary who not only foretold but made inevitable the bloody apocalypse of the Civil War. An intricate mosaic of alternating voices, Raising Holy Hell is an explosive, multi-textured evocation of the visionary madness of the man who saw an America damned by the sin of slavery.

Customer Reviews:

Historical fiction at its unconventional best.......2006-06-20

Taking on such a controversial subject as John Brown and portraying his tumultuous life, times, deeds and death in any form let alone in an engaging and objective manner would seem an impossible task, but Olds succeeds brlliantly in this novel. I won't bog down this review with the story line - it's been told and reviewed many times. I will make a note on the "format" of the book - it's somewhat unique to say the least. There are multiple first person narratives, quotes from historical figures and short vignettes, as well as an imaginary court scene with Mr. Brown. Don't be dismayed. This doesn't detract from the book. To the contrary, when one finishes this novel it all makes perfect sense. If you have an interest in John Brown, his place in history, abolition, the Civil War or just want to read a fine novel you won't be disappointed with this book.

A very important book.......2006-04-14

In Raising Holy Hell, his novel about John Brown, Bruce Olds makes the reader ask: How should a person act if directly faced with the inhuman system of slavery that brutalised and killed millions? And, more uncomfortably, could extreme individual violence as exemplified by John Brown's actions be justified in seeking to hasten the end of slavery years before the advent of the American civil war? While vividly imagining through diary entries and historical documents the personality of John Brown and his impact on those who knew him, as a reader who just happened to stumble on this remarkable book I am most grateful to Mr. Olds for bringing into focus and making real the myriad repercussions that slavery had on our society and the individuals it affected. He does justice to real people whom he lets speak to us through his novel (apart, perhaps, from his portrait of Abraham Lincoln), including, among others, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Perhaps most shocking are the inclusion of statements by judges and various "founding fathers" of the USA in support of slavery. Highly recommended for anyone interested in these human questions or this historical period. A remarkable book that also causes the reader to reevaluate their own response to present-day issues which are even now costing the lives of thousands.

get this book and read it.......2002-07-13

....

you will never forget this book after reading it. this book should never go out of print. because of the subject. and because of the style of writing. it is quite simply,

fantastic.

Nothing less than terrific.......2001-11-28

An astonishing retelling of the life of John Brown. I selected this book for my book group after having listened to Banks' "Cloudsplitter" on BOT. I had read a few reviews of that book post hoc only to find that many critics cited this text as superior. I would say that the experience of listening, rather than reading, to Banks' book likely boosts my appraisal as I thought it was brilliant in its expanse, detail and imagination. As for Olds' work, it reads as though one is living through the time in a dream-like state. The wickedness and cruelty that is frequently attributed to "historical context" is brought to bear so that it is difficult to fathom how we look back at our American history as somehow noble and founded on justice. As for the man, John Brown, it was a serendipitous reading choice given the current state of world affairs. When resistance is linked to terrorism, the results are necessarily unpredicatable and frightening, regardless of the outcome.

Cloudtopper.......2001-05-27

Russell Banks's "Cloudsplitter" may have garnered higher sales, but Bruce Olds's Pulitzer Prize nominated debut novel, while unjustly neglected by readers, received more positive reviews, and deservedly so. Where Banks's wholly conventional treatment of the life of John Brown remains turgidly earthbound, Olds's more innovative take soars with incandescent energy. Where Banks's book plods, Olds's pulses with brute lyricism. Where Banks drones excessively, Olds incants extravagantly. At last, "Cloudsplitter" implodes of its own portentousness and gravity; "Raising Holy Hell" explodes with the raw power of its poetry. It is the difference between being sucked down a black hole, and riding the wave of a supernova. Which reading experience would you rather have?

John Brown: The Making of a Martyr (Southern Classics)

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Part of the Problem
Non-essential for historical study
Good story-telling, but not to be used for history
Excellent portrait of an American revolutionary
Criminal crowned martyr

John Brown: The Making of a Martyr (Southern Classics)
Robert Penn Warren
Manufacturer: J.S. Sanders & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 1879941198

Book Description

Portrait of the tormented liberator by America's first poet laureate.

Customer Reviews:

Part of the Problem.......2007-09-04

While one may appreciate the literary contributions of Robert Penn Warren overall, surely this early work is an unfortunate part of the problem that the 20th century view of Brown has been so warped and skewed. Warren not only sustained the regional biases of his background, but he did no original research and largely appropriated the problematic but unquestioned "facts" of biographer Oswald G. Villard, whose "definitive" 1910 work questionably presents Brown as a kind of principled murderer. Warren found that an easy thesis to turn his way. The bottom line is that this book offers no original research, only an interpretation that says more about the author and his times and prejudices than about the subject. The quality of the writing can be otherwise judged by literary scholars, but as a biographer of Brown, this is not a book I ever have reason to reach for. It's only important to RPW's career and is recommended for those wishing to study the author's life and times. However it is largely irrelevant to any serious biographical study of Brown and no one interested in learning about the abolitionist should start or finish with this book.

Non-essential for historical study.......2005-08-22

As a John Brown scholar and biographer, I have had to get a handle on which biographies are useful and relevant to my research. While one may appreciate an author's style, such as the case of Robert Penn Warren, it is all too apparent that his work lacks any biographical significance as a work of history. RPW contributed nothing new to the research; instead he appropriated the worst elements of Oswald G. Villard's thesis, and otherwise framed it in his cultural and ideological prejudice as a southerner of the early 20th century. Villard himself, though a liberal civil rights activist, was prejudiced against Brown because he was an extreme pacifist and the grandson of abolitionist Wm. Lloyd Garrison, and likely resented how Brown stole the thunder from his hard-working grandpa. His view of Brown as a well-meaning murderer is hardly trustworthy, yet it has been put to good use by many anti-Brown writers, esp. those writing with a southern ax to grind--from RPW to Otto Scott. The fact that C. Vann Woodward wrote the preface to this edition of RPW's bio is all the more interesting, since the former was one of the key mid-20th century scholars in skewing Brown's historical reputation.

There are many books on John Brown, and a number of them are worth purchasing if you want to learn about him. However, this work by RPW is better borrowed from the library or scanned over a cup of coffee at B&N. It offers nothing of real historical value, except to the whining, bitter progeny of the South who have yet to own up to the fact that their forebears not only lost the war, but lost it for all the wrong reasons. Historically speaking, I give it one star only because I cannot give it anything less.

And make no mistake, reader. There is a definite connection between the willingness of the "majority" population to acknowledge the immensity of the CRIME of slavery and the general unwillingness of the same population to give John Brown the salutation that he deserves, instead of endlessly comparing him to terrorists and psychos.

Good story-telling, but not to be used for history.......2002-07-30

For the past year I have been engaged in a lengthy research project on John Brown and his biographers. Robert Penn Warren's John Brown: The Making of a Martyr was written when Warren was just 24 years old, and, although it demonstrates the wonderful literary ability Warren would become famous for, the book should not be used as history; Warren's anti-Brown sentiments are obvious; his tone his extremely condescending, as he take numerous snipes at Brown throughout. Warren criticizes the work of previous Brown biographers, such as Oswald Garrison Villard, but that does not stop him from using Villard as his main source, even copying some of his words nearly verbatim. Warren does make some good points, though, like how Brown created his own martyrdom, and his prose is eloquent. Many readers go for this book because of how well told it is, but for the best, most complete, accurate, unbiased, detailed biography, read Stephen B. Oates' To Purge This Land With Blood. When it comes to research, leave this one alone.

Excellent portrait of an American revolutionary.......2000-05-04

This book does an excellent job of tracing not only John Brown's travels through Harper's Ferry, but also the genesis of his abolitionism.

Fanatic he may have been, but he was a fanatic on the right side of history. Also, there's no indication that Mr. Brown was a horse thief or a meglomaniac, although he did declare bankruptcy and did desire to lead, with the aproval of freed blacks, a provisional territory until slavery had been eliminated from the south.

Apologists for southern slavery, like Steve Quick below (who seems to be a hardcore southern apologist), should remember two words that destroy any moral argument they might muster in support of the antebellum South, and against the actions of John Brown, and later the Union.

The first word, obviously, is "slavery." It is unjustifiable, and any attempts to do so are disgraceful. It's sort of like saying that Hitler built good roads.

The second word is "Andersonville." The absolutely inhumane treatment Union soldiers received at the hands of the Confederates should never be forgotten.

Criminal crowned martyr.......2000-03-26

The Harpers Ferry raid was the ember that ignited the Civil War. It was also part of a conspiracy, hidden in history almost as much as it was at the time, involving wealthy, prominant Northerners. Among them were Stowe and even Fredrick Douglas. Brown himself was a horsethief, a murderer, and a meglamaniac. Among the evidence found on his person was the constitution of the "new republic" he would usher in after Southern whites had been slaughtered by his army of freed slaves, naming himself as the new provisional president. This well researched book so completely debunks Brown as anything but a traiterous, intolerant tyrant that it is amazing that even today he can be viewed any other way. This book will raise your awareness to a brand new level, almost as much as it raises your blood pressure.

The Secret Six : John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement

Average customer rating:

Must read!!
Otto Scott's book on John Brown
Excelent, Must Read book on John Brown
Junk History
racist pulp journalism

The Secret Six : John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement
Otto Scott
Manufacturer: Uncommon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0963838105

Book Description

The Secret Six: John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement, including Notes, Bibliography, and Index, 375 pages.

(First Edition, New York Times Book Co., 1979. Second Edition, The Foundation for American Education, 1987, as The Secret Six: The Fool as Martyr. Third Edition, Uncommon Books, Seattle, Wash., 1993, as The Secret Six: John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement.)

Unlike previous biographies of John Brown, this is the first to look at the rich men who funded his attack on Harper's Ferry. It looks into their backgrounds and personalities, their associations with Emerson, Thoreau, and other Transcendentalists, and places them not on the fringe, but in the center of the Abolitionist movement.

In the process, antebellum New England takes on a new and more interesting aspect than the whitewashes of the past. This is history as it was, not as it is taught by the winners of the Civil War.

First published by Times Books in 1979, The Secret Six elicited the following comments (among others):

"The author's thesis is that John Brown and the cabal of eminent Massachusetts clergymen, literati and wealthy businessmen, the Secret Six, who encouraged and financed him were pioneers in a use of terror that in our day has come to plague the world: the idea that killing even innocent people is moral if it serves a greater good." The New Yorker

"...Scott's accomplishment is considerable, and worth studying, not only as a signal contribution to the bibliography of terrorism, but as a vivid and penetrating account of an awful phase of our history." Norman Corwin in The Los Angeles Times

"Thanks to Otto Scott's energetic and intricate account of past delusions of righteous grandeur, terrorism may not in the future be so easy to rationalize away." Dr. Gordon M. Pradl in Chronicles of Culture

"If Scott's thorough study of the half﷓secret movement behind John Brown receives the attention it deserves . . . there will be less adulation, even in liberal and radical circles, of a 'reformer' as mad and merciless as any 20th century terrorist. And there should be some reassessment of the famous Northern abolitionists who made mad Brown their tool." Russell Kirk.

"Among other distinctions, John Brown is the only known mass﷓murderer in American history to be remembered as a national hero." M. Stanton Evans.

Now an underground classic for its "incorrect" perspective but eminently correct historical accuracy, this is the definitive book on the exemplar of modern political terror (the practice of murdering helpless and innocent people to make a political point) and the physical origins of the Civil War.

Customer Reviews:

Must read!!.......2006-03-02

A great treatise on a subject that many Americans are ignorant and misinformed about. As with any work, the reader must realize the underlying assumptions and agendas being put forth by the author and their reasonableness and validity. I believe that Otto Scott has done an exceptional job presenting and supporting his argument.

Otto Scott's book on John Brown.......2005-12-02

This is a marvelous book! A real eyeopener, and backed with facts, not opinions! The author, a professional journalist, really did his homework before he wrote this very professional and thorough fact filled book. Highly interesting and thought provoking, though some of what he reveals is a bit shocking. As a college history instructor, this is one book that I highly recommend to everyone who enjoys history and who values truth.

Dr. James Brooks

Excelent, Must Read book on John Brown.......2005-10-20

This book shows John Brown's victims were NOT "Pro-slavery" and they were NOT slave owners. (Contrary to Northern mythology.)
The previous person said to read Renehan's book instead, which refuted this book. That's NOT correct. Here is what Renhan had to say:

[Quoting directly from Renhan's book]

Free-state emigrants flowed not only from the North but also from the South, looking to found a state where, in the absence of slavery, their labor would be in demand. One John Doyle, who was destined to have a fatal run-in with John Brown, brought his family from Tennessee, recalled his widow, in order to "get to a free state where they would be no slave labor to hinder white men from making a fair day's wage." Her husband often said to her "that slavery was ruinous go to white labor; and that they had a large family of boys and would go there [to Kansas] and settle and try to get comfortable homes for their children." (5)

Source-"The Secret Six"-Edward J. Renehan, Jr-copyright-1997; University of South Carolina Press-ISBN 1-57003-181-9 (pbk)-p. 82-83

(5) [p. 281] Amos A. Lawrence, Papers Relating to John Brown, Given to the Massachusetts Historical Society by Amos A. Lawrence, February 12, 1885, 151. Maggie Moore to Amos A. Lawrence, Chattanooga, 26 May 1885, Lawrence Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society

[End Quote]

Now notice, what Otto Scott says. (again notice, both books state, Browns victims were NOT "pro-slavery", and they were NOT slave owners. (also note the footnotes both books use. The footnotes are primary source material)

[Quoting this book-Otto Scott]

The night was hot and humid; the river was not far away. The Doyle family was asleep as the men approached their cabin. Two bulldogs rushed out, barking. Two of the men stopped and slashed one to death with their sabers. The other dog fled, howling, and the family awoke.

The men knocked heavily on the door and James Doyle swung out of bed. "What is it?" he called.

"What way to the Wilkinson place?" a man's voice answered.

Doyle opened the door, saying he would tell them, and was almost knocked off his feet when several men rushed in shouting, "We're the Northern Army! Surrender!"

Mahala Doyle clutched her youngest, a girl, and began to stammer. "Hush, Mother, hush," said James Doyle. His three sons moved beside him: William, twenty-two, Drury, twenty, and Hon, fourteen. The men pushed Doyle, and then the two eldest sons, out the door. Mahala Doyle began to weep, but when they reached for the fourteen-year-old she sprang out of bed and clutched him "Not him; Oh, God, not him." (3)

The old man in the light jacket, leather tie, and farmer's straw hat, his face as thin and stern as an ax, punched the boy back and the men left, slamming the door.

Mahala Doyle clutched John and listened, her eyes wide.

The men stopped their prisoners about two hundred yards from the Doyle cabin, The leader placed his revolver against Doyle's forehead and pulled the trigger (4) as coolly as a man shooting a lame horse.

That set them off. One, in a frenzy stabbed Doyle's corpse with his saber. William Doyle was stabbed in the face, slashed over the head and shot in the side. Drury broke and ran in the darkness, was pursued, and overtaken near a ravine. He put his arms up to ward off their blows, but the men, bearded, burley, and in a near frenzy, hacked at him with their sabers. His fingers and then his arms were cut off, his head was cut open, and he was stabbed in the chest. They continued to hack after he fell-and after he was dead. He had frightened them; he might have escaped.

The Wilkinson cabin was next.

Source-"The Secret Six" (John Brown and the Abolitionist Movement)-Otto Scott-copyright-1979-p.6

(3) [p.323] Cf. Howard Report Appendix, ex parte testimony, 1193; Villard, op. cit. 159

(4) [p.323] James C. Malin, John Brown and the Legend of Fifty-Six (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1942), p. 385.

Dr. Malin, who explored John Brown's career in Kansas with thoroughness that has enraged propagandists, especially Marxists ones, quotes George Grant-a young settler who knew that Brown boys, saw them leave on their murder mission, and spoke that Brown shot Doyle but personally did nothing more..."

[Emd Quote]

This is not only the best historical accurate book, but a very good reading book also. Hard to put down!

Junk History.......2005-07-30

Otto Scott is not a historian and this book is not history. It makes no pretense of balanced research. It begins with a thesis -- that John Brown was a madman -- and excludes everything that might get in the way. Fortunately for those who want the true story, there is a more recent book by a real historian: "The Secret Six" by Edward J. Renehan, Jr., published by Crown, New York, 1995. It has been praised by historians on both sides of the John Brown controversy. Otto Scott should stick to writing paid hype by corporations such as Raytheon.

racist pulp journalism.......2003-01-05

Racist and anti-abolitionist diatribes ruin what could have been an excellent story. The writing is quick-paced, and reads like Tom Clancy,(for good or ill) particularly with his ability to weave several plot threads together and build them towards the inevitable climax at Harper's Ferry. I'm trying to learn more about the secret six, but all this book did was point out how history has been rewritten by the losers - the confederates. Slavery was the fault of John Brown and the people of Boston? I don't think so.

John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry in American History (In American History)

Average customer rating:

This WHOLE SERIES is GREAT!
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry in American History

John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry in American History (In American History)
R. Conrad Stein
Manufacturer: Enslow Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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Customer Reviews:

This WHOLE SERIES is GREAT!.......2007-09-02

I, as a historian now in my 60's, believe that this series of books for older youth tend to cut out a lot of the superfluous parts of history and get right to the point, making this series very easy to read and extremely informative, while not doing what all too many historical authors do; take 3 or 4 paragraphs to state what they could in 1. In other words, tell people how King George the III related to the American war for independance, not that he picked his nose with a sterling silver nose picker or had two dogs the size of small horses. I have 16 of these books and want to get them all, as they are all that concise, informative, and interesting.

John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry in American History.......1999-12-18

This book is filled great historical information, and good black and white photos. It also contains information about John Brown's life and ideas, the abolitionists, the raid on Harper's Ferry and the results. This will be a good report resource. Also has a nice timeline. Recommended reading for the 6th grade level and up.

Fire From the Midst of You: A Religious Life of John Brown

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John Brown the Puritan
Moral and mortal John Brown

Fire From the Midst of You: A Religious Life of John Brown
Jr., Louis Decaro
Manufacturer: NYU Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 081471921X
Release Date: 2002-12-22

Book Description

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

"[DeCaro] provide[s] a concise, sympathetic, and, on occasion, dramatic and compelling account of Brown."
—The Journal of American History

"Readable and well-researched."
—Journal of the West

"The biography nicely integrates the moral imperative of the Brown family, particularly the ideal of racial egalitarianism, with increasing sectional tension. Engagingly written."
—American Historical Review

"In this biography, Louis A. DeCaro reveals the religious integrity of a man whom others have seen as a criminal, a lunatic or a study in contradictions."
—Christian Century

""Fire from the Midst of You" is the first major religious biography of John Brown...should become a classic religious biography...no future work on Brown can be complete without a serious consideration of its many claims and insights."
—Journal of the American Academy of Religion

"DeCaro's challenging book depicts [John Brown] as a man ahead of his time...From its title (a line from Ezekiel) to its last line, Fire From the Midst of You brings to life an austere time when America saw itself as a Christian nation and fire-and-brimstone gospel shaped the populace."
—Philadelphia Inquirer

"Handsomely produced and fluently written, the book is based on extensive research: a very worthwhile addition to the scholarship relating to John Brown."
—Journal of American Studies

"A welcome addition to the literature of John Brown."
—Publishers Weekly

“Decaro sets out to establish Brown's legacy as one grounded in an alternative evangelical tradition that decried pacifism, developed a doctrine of holy war, and called any church that did not actively work for abolition anti-Christian. He places Brown in his religious milieu, reforming the legacy of this religious extremist.”
—Library Journal

"DeCaro mines a wealth of information about Brown and the black community, showing that Brown was a well known antislavery activist and ally long before the Harper's Ferry raid of 1859."
—Oakland Post

John Brown is usually remembered as a terrorist whose unbridled hatred of slavery drove him to the ill-fated raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1859. Tried and executed for seizing the arsenal and attempting to spur a liberation movement among the slaves, Brown was the ultimate cause celebre for a country on the brink of civil war.

"Fire from the Midst of You" situates Brown within the religious and social context of a nation steeped in racism, showing his roots in Puritan abolitionism. DeCaro explores Brown's unusual family heritage as well as his business and personal losses, retracing his path to the Southern gallows. In contrast to the popular image of Brown as a violent fanatic, DeCaro contextualizes Brown's actions, emphasizing the intensely religious nature of the antebellum U.S. in which he lived. He articulates the nature of Brown's radical faith and shows that, when viewed in the context of his times, he was not the religious fanatic that many have understood him to be. DeCaro calls Brown a "Protestant saint"-an imperfect believer seeking to realize his own perceived calling in divine providence.

In line with the post-millennial theology of his day, Brown understood God as working through mankind and the church to renew and revive sinful humanity. He read the Bible not only as God's word, but as God's word to John Brown. DeCaro traces Brown's life and development to show how by forging faith as a radical weapon, Brown forced the entire nation to a point of crisis.

"Fire from the Midst of You" defies the standard narrative with a new reading of John Brown. Here is the man that the preeminent Black scholar W.E.B. Du Bois called a "mighty warning" and the one Malcolm X called "a real white liberal."

Customer Reviews:

John Brown the Puritan.......2002-12-04

Louis DeCaro Jr. has presented a perspective of John Brown that has largely been hidden from most biographical studies. He shows us John Brown, the evangelical Christian, deeply rooted in reform theology and a student of the Puritans. DeCaro reveals the theological aspects that caused John Brown to pursue a course of justice for those held in the bondage of slavery, ultimately resulting in the raid on Harper's Ferry.Whether one agrees with the actions of John Brown in his quest to free the slaves or not, we are shown the thinking that led to his attempt to overthrow the system.

I believe the issues raised by this book are instructive in understanding the possible future course of those engaged in the fight against abortion.It is not inconceivable to imagine another "John Brown" rising up in the quest to bringing about justice for the unborn.

Moral and mortal John Brown.......2002-11-27

This is the first actual biography of John Brown published since the 1970s, by historian and religious educator Louis A. DeCaro, Jr. It skillfully contextualizes John Brown's religious and abolitionist development within his Calvinist background and the evangelical movement of ninteenth century America. John Brown is is shown -- through careful and lengthy research -- as a son, brother, husband (twice), and father as well as the leader of the militant abolitionists. The book is especially rich with the relationship of John Brown to African Americans, notably free people in the North who were creating communities of families and congregations in Springfield, Massachusetts and in Essex County, New York. These individuals come alive in their relationship with John Brown, who the author calls "the practical shepherd," assisting with ownership of small farms and businesses, extending the American dream of self-sufficiency, land ownership, and the rights of citizenship to African Americans. DeCaro has researched Thomas Thomas, first an employee at John Brown's wool warehouse and then a resturanteur who moves to Illinois and becomes a friend of Abraham Lincoln: "Brown and Lincoln never came so close as they did in friendship with Thomas Thomas, and the black man could speak with some authority about both leaders." Dr. DeCaro does not flinch from analysis of the Pottawatomie Massacre in Kansas in 1856, and develops an accurate background of the threatening acts of the victims. He examines several historical viewpoints about the incident, and has found a recollection by the grandaughter of Henry Thompson, the son-in-law of John Brown who was part of the violent attack. The author asks: "perhaps a fundamentally different question is needed to frame the Pottawatomie killings. What kind of circumstances would drive exceptionally moral and religious people like the Browns to such desparate measures?" This biographer of John Brown feels his subject deeply, from his heart, and from his chest as he breathes new life into the complex and human individual whose moral fire made people worldwide think about the immorality of slavery.

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