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Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid…
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Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War (original 2011; edition 2012)

by Tony Horwitz (Author)

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8053727,150 (4.04)63
In this book the author tells the tale of the daring insurrection that put America on the path to bloody war. Plotted in secret, launched in the dark, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was a pivotal moment in U.S. history. But few Americans know the true story of the men and women who launched a desperate strike at the slaveholding South. Now, this work portrays Brown's uprising revealing a country on the brink of explosive conflict. Brown, the descendant of New England Puritans, saw slavery as a sin against America's founding principles. Unlike most abolitionists, he was willing to take up arms, and in 1859 he prepared for battle at a hideout in Maryland, joined by his teenage daughter, three of his sons, and a guerrilla band that included former slaves and a spy. On October 17, the raiders seized Harpers Ferry, stunning the nation and prompting a counterattack led by Robert E. Lee. After Brown's capture, his defiant eloquence galvanized the North and appalled the South, which considered Brown a terrorist. The raid also helped elect Abraham Lincoln, who later began to fulfill Brown's dream with the Emancipation Proclamation, a measure he called "a John Brown raid, on a gigantic scale." This book travels antebellum America to deliver both a historical drama and a telling portrait of a nation divided, a time that still resonates in ours.… (more)
Member:Cronin
Title:Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War
Authors:Tony Horwitz (Author)
Info:Picador (2012), Edition: Reprint, 384 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:slavery

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Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz (2011)

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» See also 63 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 38 (next | show all)
very interesting. I have enjoyed several other books by this author which belnded the past and the present and had a considerable amount of humorous content. This one stays firmly in the past , and there is very little to laugh at, but a lot to learn,. Brings history alive ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |


Fabulous book. I've always wondered about Brown, who seemed like a first class wing nut. And there's no doubt he wasn't entirely mentally stable. But if you want some idea of how he got to Harpers Ferry, this book will help. Horwitz also accurately places him in historical context. Wonderful book! ( )
  roguelike | Feb 4, 2024 |
An excellent history of John Brown and the significance of his raid on American history, especially in regards to the Civil War. Horowitz is an excellent author that brings the people and their stories to the readers in a gripping manner. This isn't dry history. It's alive and will grasp your attention with a thirst for more. ( )
  wvlibrarydude | Jan 14, 2024 |
Learned a great deal about John Brown and the Harper's Ferry raid that I didn't previously know, especially the extent to which leading northerners supported him.
( )
  RandomWally | Jun 6, 2022 |
Nokkuð skemmtileg umfjöllun um vopnaða baráttu Johns Brown gegn þrælahaldi í Suðurríkjunum áður en sjálft þrælastríðið hófst. Raunar gefur titill bókarinnar til kynna að árás Browns og gíslataka í Harpers Ferry í Vestur-Virginíu hafi átt þátt í að kveikja í ófriðarbálinu. Mér finnst það full djúpt í árinni tekið en vissulega var þessi árás ein af aðalorsökum þess að deilurnar á milli Norður- og Suðurríkjanna hörnuðu svo að ekki varð aftur snúið.
Einn megin kostur bókarinnar er hve ferill Browns og manna hans er rakinn, breyskur öfgamaður og ofsatrúar sem þó var svo öflugur leiðtogi að hann gat dregið hóp manna í feigðarflan og síðan höfðað til mun fleiri með orðum sínum er hann beið aftöku sinnar. ( )
  SkuliSael | Apr 28, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 38 (next | show all)
Horwitz, an exceptionally skilled and accomplished journalist — his best, and best known, book is “Confederates in the Attic” (1998) — here turns his hand to pure history with admirable results. “Midnight Rising” is smoothly written, thoroughly researched, places Brown within the context of his time and place, and treats him sensitively but scarcely adoringly.
 

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Tony Horwitzprimary authorall editionscalculated
Oreskes, DanielNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Sometimes there comes a crack in Time itself.
Sometimes the earth is torn by something blind.

Stephen Vincent Benét,
"John Brown's Body"
Dedication
To Nathaniel and Bisu,
my in-house insurrectionists
First words
(Prologue) "Men, get on your arms," the Captain said. "We will proceed to the Ferry."
John Brown was born with the nineteenth century and didn't launch his attack on Virginia until he was nearly sixty.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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In this book the author tells the tale of the daring insurrection that put America on the path to bloody war. Plotted in secret, launched in the dark, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was a pivotal moment in U.S. history. But few Americans know the true story of the men and women who launched a desperate strike at the slaveholding South. Now, this work portrays Brown's uprising revealing a country on the brink of explosive conflict. Brown, the descendant of New England Puritans, saw slavery as a sin against America's founding principles. Unlike most abolitionists, he was willing to take up arms, and in 1859 he prepared for battle at a hideout in Maryland, joined by his teenage daughter, three of his sons, and a guerrilla band that included former slaves and a spy. On October 17, the raiders seized Harpers Ferry, stunning the nation and prompting a counterattack led by Robert E. Lee. After Brown's capture, his defiant eloquence galvanized the North and appalled the South, which considered Brown a terrorist. The raid also helped elect Abraham Lincoln, who later began to fulfill Brown's dream with the Emancipation Proclamation, a measure he called "a John Brown raid, on a gigantic scale." This book travels antebellum America to deliver both a historical drama and a telling portrait of a nation divided, a time that still resonates in ours.

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