Truman Nelson s biography of John Brown is a refreshing and eloquent corrective to the common misconceptions about the character and actions of this extraordinary American hero. Howard Zinn

On October 16, 1859, John Brown led a historic attack on the Harper s Ferry Armory. Nelson narrates the incredible events that unfolded that day and explodes the conventional dismissal of John Brown as a fanatic, presenting him as a revolutionary who, at the cost of his own life, helped bring an end to slavery.

After Brown s execution, the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass said of him,...