A review by roseleaf24
A Volcano Beneath the Snow: John Brown's War Against Slavery by Albert Marrin

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.