Midnight Rising is a book club assignment that our members, including me, enjoyed. It is a historical nonfiction account of John Brown’s life and death, the raid on Harpers Ferry, and the political consequences that led to the Civil War. The book is written in a novel style, but is carefully researched and annotated. I listened to the Audible version, which included an interview with author Tony Horwitz. The book has won several awards.
John Brown does not come off as a hero but rather as a delusional figure who suffered from a martyr complex. His 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry may have helped the cause of abolition, but it also cost Brown, his sons, and many others their lives. Brown should have taken a clue from Fredrick Douglas, who wisely refused to support Brown’s attempt to spark a slave rebellion in the South.