Reviews

A Volcano Beneath the Snow: John Brown's War Against Slavery by Albert Marrin

angiebayne's review against another edition

3.0

John Brown is an interesting historical figure. Was he a terrorist, a patriot, a martyr? Albert Marrin explores these ideas in this book. He details the life of John Brown, how he came to feel so strongly against slavery and why he began his campaign to free the slaves and dissolve the union. Brown is a fascinating character who had very strong political and religious beliefs in regards to slavery. He had no qualms about committing violence in the name of what he felt was right and just and he also sacrificed the lives of some of his children in the process. Marrin does a great job on John Brown and his life. What he also does is pad this book with a lot of information that makes it less readable. There are several chapters on the history of slavery and several more chapters on the history of the Civil War. Neither are necessary in detailing Brown's life. In fact, the chapters on Brown really only take up about half the book. I think this is going to turn kids off a bit. I know I skimmed/barely read a lot of the extra chapters because it was all stuff I knew or I didn't think pertained to the story I was trying to read. I think this book would have been better if it had just focused on John Brown and left the rest to other books.

erine's review against another edition

5.0

A Volcano Beneath the Snow traces John Brown's life and impact. In order to place him in context, the narrative goes into pretty deep detail about the history of slavery, as well as Brown's impact on the Civil War and beyond. The sheer scope of the book is impressive, and lends an amazing scale to John Brown's life. Marrin's treatment of the subject matter makes complex people and events accessible, but realistically his audience is probably adults and teens looking for a more engaging and less dry version of events than is provided in most textbooks.

roseleaf24's review against another edition

3.0

This book was a slog for me. I normally look forward to the nonfiction titles that are ranked among the best of the year for children/YA, since they tend to be very well-written and less dense than adult nonfiction. This book did not meet my expectations. The final chapters on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War put a fine point on my issues with the bulk of the book; there was far more life and vivacity in these chapters than in any other. I feel (obviously could be mistaken and am reading a great deal into this) that Marrin was not able to identify with the religious nature of John Brown's fervor and never really settled on a point of view that he could take on Brown. Or believed he would consider Brown crazy if it were the modern day, but didn't want to come right out and say that. It is an interesting aspect of John Brown's story that he was basically a terrorist, but was able to spin his story into hero and martyr. Marrin continued to present him as all of those things, and ended up describing his life from a distance. Abraham Lincoln, though, Marrin obviously feels very comfortable with and had a clear portrait of him to convey.

Anyway, three stars, because this was very informative and obviously some do not find it to be nearly the challenge that I did, so I guess if your interests or points of view align better, this could be an excellent book for you.

lazygal's review against another edition

3.0

I gave this a generous 3 because the author does do a good job explaining the history of slavery, both here and in Africa, tying it in to the life of John Brown and how events affected and inspired him. This is an event that has been overlooked by most history teachers, and one that could realistically be called the true start to the Civil War. Brown's actions have inspired others, for better or worse.

But it truly is a generous 3 due to the factual errors, the author's use (only once, but still!) of the first person singular, the padding (we didn't need the history of the Civil War, but more on who was inspired by Brown would have been great) and the insertion of the author's feelings (a topic like this doesn't need an authorial voice saying "here's what you should think").

beammey's review against another edition

5.0

I had not heard of John Brown before I picked up this book and I'm sort of ashamed because I consider myself a civil war aficionado. While parts of this book felt extremely long, the photos and portraits did break up the narrative nicely. I would recommend this to lovers of history or who just want to learn more about obscure history. 5 out of 5 stars.

nerfherder86's review against another edition

4.0

Excellent narrative of John Brown's entire life, along with the background of the history of slavery as an institution and the causes of the Civil War, explaining how John Brown fit into it all. Shows him as a terrorist, a zealot, and a righteous man; author says Brown serves as a "warning against terrorism for a 'good cause.'" I found interesting that the author points out that Lincoln was racist-- he didn't believe that the races were equal, but he knew slavery was wrong. I also didn't realize that abolitionists were very zealous and wanted the breakup of the Union if necessary in order to stop slavery. I always find local connections to famous national historical events fascinating: I hadn't known that there was a Cleveland lawyer at John Brown's trial! And (reading from my notes so I might have this wrong, will check text) Brown's son had a farm in Ashtabula, and he bought weapons with money from abolitionists in Akron on his way to Kansas. Book has extensive sources, all quotes are cited, has bibliography and index. Black and white illustrations (historical materials) with good captions.