To Purge This Land with Blood: A Biography of John Brown

Interesting bio on John Brown, perhaps the igniter of the Civil War. This book goes into great depth about his network of supporters. He communicated, met with and received money from leaders all across the North with a big concentration in Boston and Cleveland. According to this take, he has been planning this raid for at least 10 years and many in leadership were aware of it. It is interesting that once it took place, politicians on both sides were being blamed and were blaming others. Those in leadership scrambled to deny any knowledge while those in the arts were shouting out that this was a great thing and that Brown was a great leader.Brown sought out key leaders across the board in the North. Frederick Douglass and John Brown were very close and Douglass came down to Chambersburg before the raid to advise against proceeding. After the raid, Douglass went to Canada and Europe. Brown also consulted with Ms. Tubman for advice on transporting freed slaves and to get an idea of the landscape. It is clear he really did not listen as he went to a spot in Virginia were there were few plantations and chose a day were the field slaves and house servants were given their time off to leave and come back Monday morning (something he did not think was possible.Well written with insights into the national and local leaders, their views, their actions and their attempts to end slavery (or support) from the 1820's to 1860.

Many have assumed that John Brown must have been insane. But the author paints a clear picture of a Nation which was founded on freedom, and continually boasted about individual liberty, but which held kidnapped persons in perpetual chains. And then asks, "just who the insane one is"? Could someone deeply offended by the sin of slavery, deeply enough to not only take life, but lose his, really be considered "insane"?

Great read on the life of John Brown

Excellent book about John Brown for those who want to gain further insight to the man, his life, and his thought process without being bogged down with too much information. An excellent resource.

I cannot recommend too highly this 1971 work by Stephen B. Oates on John Brown's life and times, it is one of the most balanced and readable biographies of a man who has had over 70+ works written on him since his death in 1859. Brown is, and was, a difficult man to handle by any standard morality context, but he was willing to do what others only spoke about guardedly, and that was to take on the grave evil that existed in this land under the cognomen of "Slavery". We are still wrestling wioth its ill effects 150 years later, and no where more so then here in the South, it is the skeleton in too many closets. The 16th of October will be the 150th of Brown's Raid on the United States Armory at Harpers Ferry, (W)Va, and I recommend that if you can get there for the event, your eyes will be opened. Get a copy of this book and read it, you will be enlightened.

I really appreciate this fine biography, especially because Steven Oates did such a first-rate, first class job with it. When it comes to a controversial figure in American history - like John Brown - it takes a careful and balanced approach to pull off the biography with integrity and honor.So many persons feel an urge to make a decision about John Brown, and come to some kind of conclusion as to who he was. They want to sum him up as "bad" or "good", and apply labels to him. This book is great because it instead gives the information about Brown, and lets us decide what to think. In the end, I felt no need to label him or judge him. He was ultimately a complex, fascinating, and very-American historical figure. There is a reason why he is a household name.I liked that Oates did a superb job "getting into the head" of John Brown. Whether we agree or disagree with him and his actions (or maybe a complex mixture of the two), we can understand what drove him and guided his actions.Since most people only talk about Harpers Ferry and Kansas, it was great to read all of the other times and places of his life. Really, if you add up his time in those two places, that only accounts for about 2 years of his 59 years.It was fascinating how much he traveled around, that he met so many influential people and had so many supporters, that had fathered some 19 or so children, and was ultimately a man of action (instead of the many who talk but never follow through).My only (very minor) complaint is that the author often leaves out commas where they should be applied. But beyond that, I really enjoyed Oates writing style.This is a fascinating wild ride, and exciting read. I had a hard time putting it down. As it got closer to the end, I slowed down a bit because I didn't want it to end. I look forward to reading through it again. Highly recommended.