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alidottie's review against another edition
4.0
So I truly was disappointed that Horwitz changed his usual style of writing between the past and the present and kept instead in this book completely in the past, but in the end this is a well written book and now I know a whole lot more about John Brown and what happened at Harper's Ferry. I can't even imagine living in our country in those days. We think we are politicallydivided now . . .
11corvus11's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts out pretty slow. At times I felt the author really needed to edit it down as he felt the need to include everything he found in his research. Exchanges like, "this man said hello then this other guy said hello and they stood there like this and then they moved..." I was pretty bored and almost gave up. But, after the first third of the book it got really interesting and exciting. I hadn't realized just how connected John Brown's famous raid on Harper's Ferry was to so many other things. It was also interesting to hear about his other beliefs, his family, his disposition, his mental illness, etc. Thinking of 17 year old widows with over 10 children is difficult to imagine. John Brown was also really puritanical and I have to wonder if that's something he would have eventually budged on given a longer life (since puritanism is also used to oppress many people.) John Brown had some conflicting views like being quoted saying he was against interracial marriage and apparently misled many Black people (free and enslaved) in terms of what they were getting into with him (though reports are conflicting,) but he was obviously convinced enough about liberating enslaved people that he laid down his life without protest.
A lot of the same arguments and problems that were present then occur today. We have politicians like Lincoln who are only able to do what's right if it serves their other interests. (Lincoln was not on board with abolishing slavery until late.) Similar to today's liberals willing to put nazi free speech ahead of the lives of those nazis harm and murder, there were "abolitionists" then arguing that everything must be done "nonviolently" or "civilly" and denounced Brown. Others who were normally in favor of strict nonviolence felt moved to expand their ideology to include armed insurrection. Brown made attempts to curb violence and treat captives well, but admits his humanity was part of why his party suffered so many casualties. There was great issue with how many movements for insurrection are built on toxic masculinity and we hear of girls and women treated as breeding machines and mothers that exist in support of men rather than for their own reasons. I believe the author did well to capture how the women left behind had suffering equal to the men at war.
Interesting biography that's worth sticking with if you can make it through the beginning.
A lot of the same arguments and problems that were present then occur today. We have politicians like Lincoln who are only able to do what's right if it serves their other interests. (Lincoln was not on board with abolishing slavery until late.) Similar to today's liberals willing to put nazi free speech ahead of the lives of those nazis harm and murder, there were "abolitionists" then arguing that everything must be done "nonviolently" or "civilly" and denounced Brown. Others who were normally in favor of strict nonviolence felt moved to expand their ideology to include armed insurrection. Brown made attempts to curb violence and treat captives well, but admits his humanity was part of why his party suffered so many casualties. There was great issue with how many movements for insurrection are built on toxic masculinity and we hear of girls and women treated as breeding machines and mothers that exist in support of men rather than for their own reasons. I believe the author did well to capture how the women left behind had suffering equal to the men at war.
Interesting biography that's worth sticking with if you can make it through the beginning.
eljaspero's review against another edition
3.0
Harper's Ferry is a huge moment in American history, so hopefully Horwitz's popularity has exposed a swath of readers to its importance and legacy. But as history...eh, meh. Horwitz doesn't reveal anything particularly new, and doesn't make any particular arguments of his own ("John Brown was maybe crazy! But maybe not, maybe he was just stupid? But I'm not sure, he might have been a genius!"). A decent airplane read, but that's about it.
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, exciting story of of an event Horwitz rightly laments is relegated to a sentence or two in most American history textbooks. Americans did not see John Brown's raid as a simple "raid" at the time, and Midnight Rising makes it clear why. The ferocity of the event, the clarity of Brown's reasoning, and most of all, the north's treatment of Brown as a martyr made the nation's divisions impossible to ignore. As divided as the country is today, it's difficult to imagine conservatives or liberals lionizing as a hero someone that the other side regards as a terrorist.
Brown was a terrorist, although he fought for a just cause. The first casualty of his attack was a free black man who worked on a train that stopped at Harper's Ferry, and several more innocents were wounded or died (along with a number of slaveholders who were arguably less innocent). The raid was so much more shocking than Nat Turner's rebellion because it was engineered by a white man leading a mixed-race group of revolutionaries. Although often explained as a contributing factor to the Civil War, Horwitz makes the convincing case that Brown accomplished his goal in starting the war with his action alone. Southern states couldn't bear to see their northern neighbors celebrating a man they saw as a murderer.
Brown was a terrorist, although he fought for a just cause. The first casualty of his attack was a free black man who worked on a train that stopped at Harper's Ferry, and several more innocents were wounded or died (along with a number of slaveholders who were arguably less innocent). The raid was so much more shocking than Nat Turner's rebellion because it was engineered by a white man leading a mixed-race group of revolutionaries. Although often explained as a contributing factor to the Civil War, Horwitz makes the convincing case that Brown accomplished his goal in starting the war with his action alone. Southern states couldn't bear to see their northern neighbors celebrating a man they saw as a murderer.
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
4.0
As someone interested in the American Civil War I knew a bit about John Brown but this book really gives you a bigger picture of he was and what he set out to do. If he has any modern equivalent it would probably be to the religious extremists who blow up abortion clinics (in that he was willing to commit violent acts for a greater good).
The book itself starts off somewhat slowly, giving a lot of background, but once the actual assault on Harpers Ferry begins it's pretty gripping.
The book itself starts off somewhat slowly, giving a lot of background, but once the actual assault on Harpers Ferry begins it's pretty gripping.
brinysea's review against another edition
4.0
An engaging read. Much of it was information I was familiar with, but the anecdote included in the last couple pages was perhaps the most interesting part to me.