An authoritative new examination of John Brown and his deep impact on American history.Bancroft Prizewinning 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 nineteenthcentury life and compares him to modern terrorists civilrights activists and freedom fighters. Ultimately he finds neither a wildeyed fanatic nor a Christlike 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. show more