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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.
susiegorden's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it, but not nearly as well as Horwitz' book Confederates in the Attic. And I preferred Cloudsplitter as a fictionalized account of John Brown. Still, given that America is still dealing with our original sin of slavery, it's a good read. Especially if you don't know about Harpers Ferry. Or is you're interested in other forms of protest.
sandin954's review
3.0
My first exposure to John Brown was Raymond Massey's intensely scary performance in the highly historically inaccurate film Santa Fe Trail which I watched as a youngster. This book helped fill out the real story of the anti-slavery crusader and, while the build up to the raid was a bit tedious, it was a pretty interesting audio read by Daniel Oreskes.
jdintr's review against another edition
5.0
One of the finest books of history I've read in a long time. Horwitz captures the era of Brown so well, tracing his journey from failed wool merchant to abolitionist radical to martyr for racial justice.
Horwitz provides unique insights into the family of Brown, his long-suffering wife, who endured a hardscrabble life near the New York-Canadian border while her husband adventured in Kansas and Harper's Ferry, Virginia; his son, John, scarred by the violence of Kansas; and the three sons who joined Brown at Harper's Ferry: Owen, Watson and Oliver, two of which perished in the attack.
What is striking about the account to me isn't the abject failure of Brown's raid on the federal armory. Frederick Douglass had seen the attack as a "steel trap." It's the way he was able to draw the two dozen or so cohorts to join him on this suicide mission, and keep their allegiance to the very end. They couldn't have been drawn by any hope of military success, but by the sheer force of personality that Brown displayed and the wake of reckless moral superiority he left behind as he climbed his gallows. The blood of the Civil War made his sacrifice pale by comparison. Horowitz has returned him to his pivotal place in the history of the United States.
Horwitz provides unique insights into the family of Brown, his long-suffering wife, who endured a hardscrabble life near the New York-Canadian border while her husband adventured in Kansas and Harper's Ferry, Virginia; his son, John, scarred by the violence of Kansas; and the three sons who joined Brown at Harper's Ferry: Owen, Watson and Oliver, two of which perished in the attack.
What is striking about the account to me isn't the abject failure of Brown's raid on the federal armory. Frederick Douglass had seen the attack as a "steel trap." It's the way he was able to draw the two dozen or so cohorts to join him on this suicide mission, and keep their allegiance to the very end. They couldn't have been drawn by any hope of military success, but by the sheer force of personality that Brown displayed and the wake of reckless moral superiority he left behind as he climbed his gallows. The blood of the Civil War made his sacrifice pale by comparison. Horowitz has returned him to his pivotal place in the history of the United States.
citizen_noir's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this book during a long weekend trip to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. Like the characters in all of Tony Horwitz’s books, John Brown and his followers come alive on the page. The only deviation between this book and his others is that Horwitz stays in the past, instead of jumping between past and present. While I missed having Horwitz as a character, himself, I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about John Brown. No longer do I think Brown was just a crazy man hellbent on ending slavery through any means necessary, particularly violence. While his mission was “crazy” because it was doomed to fail, his sacrifice to this reader is praiseworthy and still inspiring.
sausome's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent, engaging historical account of John Brown's abolitionist activities, including his ultimate capture and hanging. Horwitz sketches an incredibly detailed, and fairly intimate, portrait of John Brown and his family and followers, that reads almost like fiction. The epilogue and interview with Horwitz after the book ends are also very much worthwhile. I really felt his research, as well, with regards to the many excerpts from personal letters to/from Brown and others about the raid on Harper's Ferry and activities leading up to and after the event. Great read!
If you liked this, I'd encourage you to check out "The Good Lord Bird" by James McBride, which is an incredibly accurate, fictionalized account of John Brown's activities pre-Civil War, told in the style of Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
If you liked this, I'd encourage you to check out "The Good Lord Bird" by James McBride, which is an incredibly accurate, fictionalized account of John Brown's activities pre-Civil War, told in the style of Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
liberrydude's review against another edition
4.0
I always enjoy reading Tony's books. He makes history come alive. The pictures and maps are integrated into the text at just the right points. I found it quite interesting that John Brown thought being in a depression was a superior tactical position to being on high ground. Pretty stupid. But it was obvious that Brown's success was in his defeat.
thegoodmariner's review against another edition
3.0
Narrative telling only, but great version of the story.