Ever since he was a boy, John Brown had hated slavery. He was an abolitionist, a person who believed that no one should be able to own others. Many abolitionists hope that strong words would convince people to end slavery, but John thought words were not enough. He was determined to fight—even if it meant death. In John Brown, author Tom Streissguth and illustrator Ralph L. Ramstad capture the fiery determination of the man whose actions helped to bring about the Civil War.