John Brown; The Cost of Freedom

Intl Pub (January 1, 2007)

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This concise but formidable study further reveals the John Brown hidden for generations under dense layers of scholarly rhetoric and prejudice. Hackneyed characterizations are debunked, from Brown's failed businesses to his activities in Kansas and Virginia. There is also much that is new here: the real Nelson Hawkins; the decline of the Douglass- Brown friendship; evidence that the slaves were quite ready and willing to support Brown at Harper's Ferry. Rare illustrations add to the revelations in this book. Here is cutting edge research that overturns many conventional assumptions about John Brown-- abolitionist.

Louis DeCaro has written books on Malcolm X and an earlier book on John Brown's religious life (NYU Press 2002). He is a professor at Alliance Theology Seminary in NYC and interim pastor of the Fellowship Chapel in the Bronx. He is considered an expert on John Brown's letters.