"John Brown inspired millions as a martyr for liberty, but he convinced just twenty-one men to fight with him at Harper’s Ferry. The most colorful and morally complex of them was John Cook—a lisping libertine, a crack shot, a spy who couldn’t stop talking. Steven Lubet’s rich and revelatory account of Cook’s amazing life and confounding death is a wartime adventure and a legal thriller, a personal odyssey and an important American story."—Daniel J. Sharfstein, author of The Invisible Line: A Secret History of Race in America
~Daniel Sharfstein
"An important book that sheds new light on a long-neglected chapter of the John Brown story. Lubet’s original research and easy, flowing writing style make this a welcome addition to any John Brown library."—Brian McGinty, author of John Brown’s Trial
~Brian McGinty
“A beautifully told tale, John Brown’s Spy takes a fresh angle on Brown’s legendary slave rising. Focusing on the story of John Cook, Brown’s deeply flawed key lieutenant, Steven Lubet illuminates both the enormity of the historical event and Brown’s unique moral power.”—David O. Stewart, author of Impeached: President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy
~David O. Stewart
Honorable Mention at the 2012 Southern California Book Festival in the Non-Fiction category
~2012 Honorable Mention for the Southern California Book Festival in the Non-Fiction category, Southern California Book Festival
“Compulsively readable…A behind-the-scenes look at both this gentleman rogue and all the machinations that led to the disastrous raid and the trial and imprisonment of both Brown and Cook…Lubet sustains a compelling narrative …while strewing his tale with fascinating details… Riveting.”—Booklist (Starred Review)
~Booklist
"With a dramatist’s gift for storytelling, Lubet brings to life John E. Cook, a key coconspirator in the 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry...The particular genius of Lubet’s book is in his accounting of Cook and the other men in Brown’s so-called army, most of whom have been little studied... Take[s] readers on a ride through the frantic days surrounding Brown’s raid that will make them “feel” the moment as much as understand it."—Library Journal, Starred Review
~Library Journal
"As compelling as in an adventure novel. . . Lubet’s depiction of the trial and the various strategies and arguments employed is riveting. . . . Enlightening. . . . An unforgettable story."—Robert I. Girardi, Washington Independent Review of Books
~Robert I. Girardi, Washington Independent Review of Books
Finalist for the 2013 Society of Midland Authors literary awards in the Biography category.
~Literary Awards, Society of Midland Authors
Honorable Mention for the 2012 Southern California Book Festival in the Non-Fiction category.
~Southern California Book Festival, JM Northern Media LLC
