A moving cultural biography of abolitionist martyr John Brown, by one of the most important African-American intellectuals of the twentieth century. <br><br>In the history of slavery and its legacy, John Brown looms large as a hero whose deeds partly precipitated the Civil War. As Frederick Douglass wrote: &quot;When John Brown stretched forth his arm ... the clash of arms was at hand.&quot; DuBois's biography brings Brown stirringly to life and is a neglected classic.