Patriotic Treason

June 5, 2006
Carton has written an absorbing and inspiring, though not wholly innovative, biography of abolitionist firebrand John Brown. A historian of American culture, Carton (The Marble Faun: Hawthorne's Transformations
) centers this portrait on Brown's ceaseless efforts to end slavery. From the earliest days, Brown's abolitionism was grounded in Christianity: for him, the biblical call to love thy neighbor trumped any argument a proslavery theologian could make. As for what Brown accomplished in the climactic 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry, Carton quotes, and seems to share, the assessment of Brown's contemporary Wendell Phillips that Brown "loosened the roots of the slave system" and can be credited with ending slavery in Virginia. Carton usefully sets Brown's abolitionism against the backdrop of a larger American story—the increased radicalism of black abolitionists beginning in the 1840s; the Compromise of 1850 (which admitted California to the union as a free state while passing the Fugitive Slave Act); and ongoing debates about whether slavery should be legal in western territories. Like Brown's other recent biographer, David Reynolds (John Brown, Abolitionist
), Carton writes with great admiration for his subject. His Brown is a hero who set the nation on a road to justice that we are traveling still. B&w photos.

July 1, 2006
John Brown -s historic raid on the federal arsenal at Harper -s Ferry, VA, in 1859 liberated no slaves, but it sparked dramatic emotions that hastened the coming of the Civil War. Carton (American literature & culture, Univ. of Texas, Austin; "The Marble Faun: Hawthorne -s Transformations") offers a sympathetic portrait of this significant figure, a white man with a true empathy for the plight of African Americans, who was compelled to take violent action to enable those held in chains to free themselves. Drawing on an impressive collection of archival sources and secondary studies, he highlights Brown -s dramatic rhetoric, focuses on his deep religious convictions and his relationship with family members, and links his actions with those of modern-day activists. Similar in content to such recent biographies as David S. Reynolds -s "John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights", this is a compelling biography. While it offers little that is new, it will be greatly enjoyed by the casual reader. Although perhaps not a high-priority purchase for academic libraries, it is recommended for larger public libraries." - Theresa McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib."

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2006
Carton has penned an intriguing portrait of abolitionist Brown. He grounds this biography firmly in historical context by providing a digestible overview of the politically tumultuous mid-nineteenth century, and his admiration for the courage of Brown's convictions in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds shines through the compelling narrative. Although Brown was often portrayed as a crackpot or an unstable zealot, his abolitionist ideals were a natural by-product of both his Christian beliefs and his dedication to the letter and the spirit of the Declaration of Independence. Carton also poses an interesting question: Can one be a treasonous patriot? The answer is a resounding yes, when, as in the case of Brown, one sacrifices one's self and the law for the greater good. Crediting his subject with exposing the hypocrisy of democracy and unleashing the forces that led directly to the Civil War and the contemporary civil rights movement, Carton embraces Brown as a significant cultural beacon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)