MIDNIGHT RISING John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War

Most of the speakers in the story of John Brown are fanatics on one side or another of the slavery question, and a very large proportion of them are Virginians. Fortunately for us and for narrator Daniel Oreskes, the text makes clear who is speaking, so this skilled reader has not had to invent distinct voices for all of them. He does, however, treat them all with respect. In a story that includes the confusion and high emotions of Bleeding Kansas and Harper's Ferry, respect is helpful. Brown is such a resonant, iconic figure—so idiosyncratic and so thoroughly American, a terrorist in the name of freedom—that he remains, while possibly a maniac, an important element in the fabric of our culture. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2011]