John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights
Few historical figures are as intriguing as John Brown, the controversial Abolitionist who used terrorist tactics against slavery and single-handed...
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Jun 02, 2010
Richard
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John Brown was the most famous, and polarizing, figure to emerge in America in the 1850's, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln. Brown came to personalize the violence which was overcoming the national dialogue over slavery at the time. Many interpretations of Brown have been presented by critics and historians since he died in 1859. Depending on your point of view, he was a villain who incited the North and South to open warfare; to others, he was the avenging angel of abolition. David Reynold
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Feb 06, 2011
Roger Loran
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I learned quite a lot from this book. I have heard of John Brown all my life and, of course, I knew about the massacre of slavers in Kansas and the raid on the arsenal in Harper's Ferry and bits and pieces of his life, but there were a lot of details that I was unaware of. This book fills in a lot of the gaps. The details on the Harper's ferry raid were especially illuminating. John Brown was about as racism and sexism free as anyone could be. This was at a time that even the most ardent aboliti
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Dec 04, 2010
Bill
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Feb 05, 2009
The claims of Reynolds's subtitle strike many as inflated; while John Brown certainly grew into a towering folkloric figure after his death, the historians who review the book note that his actions were less a direct cause than an important symbolic precursor to the Civil War. Some critics believe Reynolds, winner of the Bancroft Prize for Walt Whitman's America, is overly sympathetic to Brown's use of violence. Though other reviewers counter that the author never turns full-scale apologist, the
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Sep 06, 2011
Jendy
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Fascinating look into such an important figure in American history. And he lived so close to Ann & Peter's place in the ADKs. I could understand his frustration at the abolitionists who didn't want to appear violent or strident. It took him a long time to finally feel he just had to take action. Civil disobedience with a decidedly militant slant. He believed we WERE at war, or that the battle needed to begin.
Paul and I happened to have stumbled on an old abolitionist newspaper More...
Paul and I happened to have stumbled on an old abolitionist newspaper More...
Aug 16, 2011
James
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I turned to this book as I was reading Cloudsplitter a novel about John Brown by Russell Banks. The novel provided an interesting perspective on the life and family of Brown, but ultimately left me wanting more. Thus to my unexpected relief this enlightened and enlightening cultural biography was able to impress me in several ways, filling in some missing details about John Brown. In it Reynolds thoroughly explores the connection between the leading Transcendentalists of New England and John B
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Jan 24, 2012
Tyler
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The postmodern critique has brought us the "cultural biography," which in this work aims to show three things: 1) how John Brown was a part of the culture he lived in; 2) how he transcended that culture; and 3) how he transformed it. This new approach may sound faddish or obstruse. But David Reynolds makes the final product an astounding account of John Brown's place in history.
I took up the book because I knew so little about Harper's Ferry, even though it had been a water More...
I took up the book because I knew so little about Harper's Ferry, even though it had been a water More...
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Dec 28, 2008
John
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Fascinating biography of Brown from early childhood through his death. The examination of public reaction after the raid on Harper's Ferry and Brown's death is a thorough and engaging overview. Reynolds takes considerable time connecting Brown to the Transcendentalist movement and does so with great effectiveness.
More a social history than a fact by fact telling. That's probably why I enjoyed it. Reynolds did such a great job of connecting Brown to his times, to his unique family More...
More a social history than a fact by fact telling. That's probably why I enjoyed it. Reynolds did such a great job of connecting Brown to his times, to his unique family More...
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Sep 14, 2011
Michael
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Very informative. John Brown was even more interesting than I had imagined. He was, for instance, not just an opponent of slavery, but an opponent of racism in any form during an era when that was very VERY unusual. Even the major Abolitionists of the day clung to a very condescending, paternalistic kind of racism. Not so Captain Brown. I didn't know either that it was the Transcendentalists, Thoreau, Emerson, etc. who rescued Brown from relative obscurity by championing the man and his cau
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Nov 06, 2011
Steven
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John Brown was a remarkable person. I'm a huge fan of his. Reynolds's biography is thorough and generally well-written. I like that Reynolds shares his opinions of Brown. It makes for a more interesting and honest read. Some of the content can be tedious and I didn't find it wonderfully written, merely passable.
But Brown is the star here, and rightly so. His actions raise a number of relevant moral questions, but only one who is still ambiguous about the American racial order w More...
But Brown is the star here, and rightly so. His actions raise a number of relevant moral questions, but only one who is still ambiguous about the American racial order w More...
Jan 06, 2012
Mike
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Possibly the most controversial figure in American history. John Brown was among the last of what what was left of the Puritain movement in America. His almost unquestionable insanity turned him into a bloody murderer engaged in a holy war against the evils of slavery. A failure at everything in life, he suceeded in his death at setting the stage for a civil war that would free our nation of its 'peculiar institution' and the greatest evil and shame of America's history.
Like history? L More...
Like history? L More...
Jul 29, 2008
Angela
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David Reynolds sympathetic yet critical and probing treatment of John Brown -- once among the most polarizing figures in America history -- is an amazing and thought-provoking book. I use John Brown, and the events surrounding the Kansas "civil war" ("Bleeding Kansas," 1856), along with the events of the raid on Harper's Ferry (October 1859), as part of my freshman seminar on social criticism at the University of Michigan. Brown is an excellent figure to include in such a c
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Feb 28, 2008
Christos
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One of the best works of non-fiction I've ever read. Throughly researched and footnoted, yet with an unintrusive style, it doesn't come off as 'inaccessibly academic'.
I can't imagine that this book is not the definitive work written to date on John Brown, a critical figure in America's history. Admittedly, I haven't read others, but given this ones comprehensiveness, even-handedness and readability, it gets my unequivocal recommendation to anyone interested in American history, p More...
I can't imagine that this book is not the definitive work written to date on John Brown, a critical figure in America's history. Admittedly, I haven't read others, but given this ones comprehensiveness, even-handedness and readability, it gets my unequivocal recommendation to anyone interested in American history, p More...
Jan 06, 2009
Edward
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I read the Arthur Penn Waren John Brown book and came away thinking of the man as crazy, this book is much better and has totally changed my view. Brown is certainly intense, but not crazy. During his trial a constitution he wrote for his proposed new community was entered into evidence to prove he was crazy. The constitution called for equality of all people blacks, Indians and women. A certain sign of insanity.
It may be that reading this today in the day of Obama is different than More...
It may be that reading this today in the day of Obama is different than More...
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Aug 31, 2009
Nora
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Excellent and thorough account of John Brown's life... debunks some of the myths about him (he wasn't crazy!) and points out some of the amazing things about him -- he was one of the only anti-racist white abolitionists. Loved it.
Feb 24, 2011
This was one of the 2006 RUSA Notable Books winners. For the complete list, go to http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/a...
Dec 15, 2010
Deborah
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This cultural biography sets John Brown in his cultural, historical and intellectual times, including rapidly multiplying religious isms. Brown's singular lack of racism toward blacks and Native Americans united with his Puritanism made him a lone wolf. This book defines influential literary works and their authors of Brown's time.
I hadn't remembered that John and his father Owen where strong activists in the Underground Railroad helping runaway slaves to freedom in the north.
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I hadn't remembered that John and his father Owen where strong activists in the Underground Railroad helping runaway slaves to freedom in the north.
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Jan 19, 2010
Katie
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anti-racist activists should totally read this book because of the strength of the analysis of abolitionist activity from the 1830s-1860s-totally fascinating!
Sep 23, 2010
"John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights by David S. Reynolds (2006)"
Nov 17, 2011
Pamela
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Best contemporary biography of John Brown. As a cultural history it really puts John Brown and it legacy into perspective.
Jan 05, 2008
Joe
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Very thorough, lively, informative. Reynolds is firmly on the "martyr" side of the "John Brown: martyr or madman?" debate, but this is not apologetics or advocacy. The scholarship is responsible and transparent; Reynolds gives you the details and then says "here's how I interpret them," so it's not hard to evaluate them yourself and come to your own conclusions. He doesn't shrink from holding Brown responsible for the Pottawatomie killings. I enjoyed his extende
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Dec 07, 2007
Jesse
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John Brown is one of the most important Americans who ever lived, and one of the most difficult to decide what to make of. This is a great book for bringing up issues of the relationship between injustice, individualism, political violence, and how intellectuals justify or refuse to justify it.
Like a lot of books by academics, it suffers from the continual repetition of the thesis. Like every other page.
Like a lot of books by academics, it suffers from the continual repetition of the thesis. Like every other page.
Dec 17, 2009
Michael
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Brown is an interesting historical figure. His anti-slavery beliefs were obviously admirable, but his methods make one uncomfortable. His story gets right to the debate of distinguishing between labeling figures as freedom fighters vs. terrorists.
What I enjoyed most about this book is that it is a cultural biography. It examines Brown's impact on both the culture of his day as well as the modern age.
What I enjoyed most about this book is that it is a cultural biography. It examines Brown's impact on both the culture of his day as well as the modern age.
Sep 24, 2007
Bullfrog
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This book is a much better piece of research than it is a book - it's not expertly written, by any means, but it's got so much more history about the abolitionist movement than what basically everyone is taught in high school that it's an essential read. A dense book, it captures in great detail the ornery figure that lies a-moulderin' in the grave.
Oct 01, 2007
Ian
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David S. Reynold's biography on abolitionist John Brown is well written and thoroughly researched. He paints a picture of a man morally and spiritually driven to end the institution of slavery. Interestingly, Reynolds also compares and contrasts John Brown's zealotry with modern-day terrorists who have also killed in the name of faith.
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Mar 22, 2010
Hatuxka
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The level of racism in the country and including within even the fiercest elements of the abolitionist movement, documented by the author is eye-opening. John Brown was free of any of this, although he wrote a newspaper column with a title that included "Sambo".
Aug 28, 2007
Zoe
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A very well-written history of John Brown and the period of his life. It gives tremendous insight into the political and social realities of the US in the first part of the 19th Century, as well as illuminating how John Brown became a martyr.
Oct 09, 2008
This is THE best biography of John Brown ever written. It doesn't treat him as a nut-case but as he really was:a zealous, pious, God-fearing abolitionist who was trying to right his country's wrongs.
Nov 30, 2007
i think i've been putting it off cause it's just so big (there's no way i'm going to lug it onto the subway!) my dad recommended it. he read it in his man's book club
