Teacher, Preacher, Soldier, Spy

"impressive research... lyrical storytelling * Jeremy Neely, Missouri Historical Review * There's no question that Mr. Grasso has written the definitive biography of John Russell Kelso. But what are we to make of this unfulfilled life?...Grasso...admits that his subject was not a 'Great Man' in the traditional sense, since 'he never achieved greatness by his exemplary accomplishments or his historical influence.' To broaden Kelso's story, the author takes every opportunity to look beyond the man, with cogent discussions of national political and cultural trends and enlightening digressions on everything from phrenology to dueling. He concludes that Kelso was 'a representative man of nineteenth century America,' personifying 'modes of character' such as the Evangelical Christian, Enlightened Critic, Sentimental Hero and Radical Reformer.... Most readers will be drawn to his story not for the archetypes he embodied, but for his amazing wartime exploits and for his striving, searching, far-from-perfect humanity. * Gerard Helferich, Wall Street Journal * Christopher Grasso has written an extraordinary work of retrieval, discovery, and exhilarating storytelling about a thoroughly American, if also eccentric, Westerner. From a solid Whig to an anarchist and from a Methodist to an atheist, the warrior and preacher John Kelso lived many lives across the nineteenth century. The granular detail that Grasso uncovers from Kelso's voluminous writings emerges in a gripping tale of a real man who might otherwise seem a character created by Mark Twain. * David W. Blight, author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom * Equal parts adventure tale and history of ideas, Teacher, Preacher, Soldier, Spy traces the life of John R. Kelso, 'a desperate yet determined man up to his neck in the churning waters' of the nineteenth century. The story takes readers from revivals in the early Republic, to battles in Civil War Missouri, to political conflicts in Washington, DC, and finally to the Gilded Age West while also leading them across intellectual terrain stretching from honor and manhood to spiritualism and anarchism. Author Christopher Grasso guides the journey with expertise, humor and insight. * Chandra Manning, Georgetown University * Christopher Grasso's Teacher, Preacher, Soldier, Spy presents the fascinating story of John R. Kelso, a man often at war with his world on several fronts. Methodist minister, later atheist, schoolteacher, enlisted man, spy, cavalry officer, master of hairbreadth escapes, and finally writer. This three-times married, bookish, opinionated, intrepid, and volatile man is a character worthy of a movie script. * George C. Rable, author of Damn Yankees! Demonization and Defiance in the Confederate South * Christopher Grasso's biography of John Kelso—""a teacher, a preacher, a soldier, and a spy; a congressman...a Radical Republican...a Methodist...an atheist""- is a good book, and you should read it. * Gracjan Kraszewski, Church History * Teacher, Preacher, Soldier, Spy is an extensive and beautifully written biography. Grasso is meticulous in piecing together the historical record of Kelso's life...Teacher, Preacher, Soldier, Spy is highly recommended and will benefit any student or scholar of nineteenth-century America. * Le'Trice Donaldson, Journal of Southern History *"