Charles Poland has a PhD in History and more than forty years of college teaching as a Professor of History. Among the courses he has taught were college credit fieldntrip courses on John Brown's raid.
Poland's account is enhanced by the skill with which he introduces Brown's followers, whose commitment to their cause was clearly amplified by Brown's charisma. The stories of their roles in the planning and execution of the raid make the descriptions of their fates read like first-rate fiction, some enduring incredible hardship to escape Brown's fate, others sharing it on the gallows. -- Patrick Reed, Emeritus Professor of History, Northern Virginia Community College