Otto Scott pulls no punches in his evaluation of James I of England (James VI of Scotland). Scott's writing is easy to read and fast paced, yet of a high scholarly quality. His solidly Christian perspective is unusual today. Look for other books by Scott. I recommend his book on Robespierre and _The Great Christian Revolution_. Highly recommended -- you will not be disappointed.

Racist and anti-abolitionist diatribes ruin what could have been an excellent story. The writing is quick-paced, and reads like Tom Clancy,(for good or ill) particularly with his ability to weave several plot threads together and build them towards the inevitable climax at Harper's Ferry. I'm trying to learn more about the secret six, but all this book did was point out how history has been rewritten by the losers - the confederates. Slavery was the fault of John Brown and the people of Boston? I don't think so.

The book shows the kind of men that financed John Brown's Abolitionist movement. They had no regard for the laws and Constitution of this country when it came to their fanatical obsession of the way our government should be governed. After reading this book, one knows that the Abolitionist movement is alive and well, media and all! The American people do not know their history. This book exposes a lot of truth as to what the movement really was: Power to overthrow the government by using the slavery issue to gain power over the states. It was a movement that caused the bloodiest war of our history. The loss of lives was more than any other war the Americans have fought. The Abolitionists were very prominent in their society: Preachers, teachers, and physicians. Because of their staus, they were able to influence the people. The slavery issue could have been solved the same way England solved their slave issue, by compromising and relocating the slaves. The real sad part is John Brown as being hailed as a hero while he should have been tried and hung for the murder of so many inncoent people. This book helps to put to rest the myth of John Brown as being a hero. It shows the fanatacism and cowardice of the Abolitionist movement by their use of others to do their dirty work. In this book, Otto does not take sides. He takes the historical happenings of both sides and allows the reader to draw up the conclusions themselves. He has the book well-indexed so that further study can be made. The excellent thing about this book is that you cannot find many books about the Abolitionist movement. Their movement has been well hidden from public view. (Too bad you only go up to 5 stars. It should have been given 5 and then some. Possibly 10 stars.) If you are interested in another book about the same issue, I recommend Samuel A Aslie's "A Southern View of the Invasion of the Southern States and War of 1861-1865."

The book shows the kind of men that financed John Brown's abolitionsit movment. They had no regard for the laws and Constitution of this country when it came to their fanatical obsession of the way our government should be governed. After reading this book, one knows that the Abolitionist movement is alive and well, media and all! The American people do not know their history. This book exposes a lot of truth as to what the movement really was: power to overthrow the government by using the slavery issue to gain power over the states. It was a movement that caused the bloodiest war of our history. The loss of lives was more than any other war the Americans have fought. The Abolitionists were very prominent in their society: preachers, teachers, physicians, that they were able to influence the people. The slavery issue could have been solved the same way England solved their slave issues, by compromising and relocating the slaves. The real sad part is John Brown was hailed as a hero while he should have been tried and hung for the murder of so many innocent people. This book helps to put to rest the myth of John Brown as being a hero. It shows the fanatacism and cowardice in the Abolitionist movement by using others to do their dirty work. In this book, Otto does not take sides. He takes the historical happenings of both sides and allows the reader to draw up the conclusions themselves. He has the book well-indexed so that futher study can be made. The excellent thing about this book is that you cannot find many books about the Abolitionist movement. Their movement has been well hidden from the public. We are left with the films, fables, poems, books, etc with the one-sided view. All of these are far from truthful. (TOO BAD YOU ONLY GO UP TO 5 STARS. IT SHOULD BE GIVEN 5 AND THEN SOME. POSSIBLY 10 STARS)

Otto Scott's approach to Robespierre is a rather unusual one. He falls into the trap of using error-filled and discredited sources, but that is not unusual. Many writers on the French Revolution do that. What is strange is his attitude toward the goals of the Revolution. Most writers concede that the revolutionaires were sincerely hoping for the betterment of all French citizens. But Scott seems to have a thread of paranoia running throughout the entire book. His fear seems to be that the ordinary, working class Frenchman will now have the same rights as his "betters". His terror of mob rule is so intense that he cannot be in any way objective. The book has a great many mistakes and is at times unintentionally hilarious. Avoid it by all means unless you really know your history.

Mr. Scott betrays his lack of familiarity with the era, and instead rants for most of this book, which should be avoided by any serious readers

I recently wrote a term paper on Robespierre using a dozen sources, some pro-Robespierre like Gallo and Rude, some balanced pro and con like Norman Hamspon and Thompson and some anti-Robespierre like Belloc. Then there are the off the wall zealots, who throw history to the wind and launch diatribes that ignore and totally distort history. This book by Otto Scott falls into this category. I found it usful only to point out in my paper how some people crudely try merely to manipulate facts and events to promote some half baked notions. It is really a total muddle.