John Brown in New York - (Excelsior Editions) by Sandra Weber (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

An intimate narrative of John Brown and his family in the Adirondack Mountains.

With passion and sound scholarship, Sandra Weber introduces a fresh and intimate portrayal of John Brown in his time and favorite place, the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York. This intertwining story of sublime scenery and human rights concentrates on John's relationships with his family and black neighbors, which brings forth the essence of the man: his inner self, moral fiber, and principles. Weber reveals a vital piece of the John Brown story. It creates a conduit through which to reconcile the poor pioneer farmer, family patriarch, preacher, and devoted friend of blacks with John Brown's public persona.

Review Quotes

"Weber has clearly done a tremendous amount of in-depth research over 35 years, according to her acknowledgments, sleuthing out correspondence, obscure newspaper reports, literature and more to give us a fuller picture of a complex, driven, charismatic man ... John Brown will never be figured out completely. More scholarship will come. Weber's book is destined to take its place among the standard-bearers." - Adirondack Explorer

"This book reconstructs the local world of the Brown family in North Elba (Essex County), New York. Most scholarship on Brown fails to recognize the importance of this area for the radical abolitionist family. But Weber demonstrates that although Brown was often absent from the farm in North Elba, it remained the center of the Brown family life through the 1850s and after Brown's death in 1859." - Carole Emberton, author of To Walk About in Freedom: The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner

"John Brown in New York beautifully reveals the love John Brown had for his family and the love his family and his friends had for him." - Don Papson, cofounder and past President, North Star Underground Railroad Museum, Ausable Chasm, New York

"Weber uses personal letters written by the Brown family that give a picture of what they were experiencing while he was on his mission to end slavery. The book also provides an intimate view of how they dealt with Harpers Ferry, the deaths of his sons, and his execution." - Tom Calarco, author of The Search for the Underground Railroad in Upstate New York

"Weber has clearly done a tremendous amount of in-depth research over 35 years, according to her acknowledgments, sleuthing out correspondence, obscure newspaper reports, literature and more to give us a fuller picture of a complex, driven, charismatic man ... John Brown will never be figured out completely. More scholarship will come. Weber's book is destined to take its place among the standard-bearers." -- Adirondack Explorer

"This book reconstructs the local world of the Brown family in North Elba (Essex County), New York. Most scholarship on Brown fails to recognize the importance of this area for the radical abolitionist family. But Weber demonstrates that although Brown was often absent from the farm in North Elba, it remained the center of the Brown family life through the 1850s and after Brown's death in 1859." -- Carole Emberton, author of To Walk About in Freedom: The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner

"John Brown in New York beautifully reveals the love John Brown had for his family and the love his family and his friends had for him." -- Don Papson, cofounder and past President, North Star Underground Railroad Museum, Ausable Chasm, New York

"Weber uses personal letters written by the Brown family that give a picture of what they were experiencing while he was on his mission to end slavery. The book also provides an intimate view of how they dealt with Harpers Ferry, the deaths of his sons, and his execution." -- Tom Calarco, author of The Search for the Underground Railroad in Upstate New York

About the Author

Sandra Weber is the author of numerous magazine articles and several books, including The Woman Suffrage Statue and Adirondack Roots: Stories of Hiking, History and Women. She lives in a log cabin in the Adirondacks, about twenty-five miles from the John Brown Farm.