A compelling account of the life of radical abolitionist John Brown narrated by his son Owen, the last surviving member of the Brown family. The book is written from Owen's personal perspective at the end of his life 40 years after the raid on Harper's Ferry (a major flash point on the road to the Civil War). Incredibly well-researched, Cloudsplitter is in my opinion a must-read for those interested in American life in the decades leading up to the Civil War. I would also argue that from a pure "storytelling" perspective, Russell Banks holds his own with the best American writers.