Success Made to Last Classic with H.W. Brands

Today’s guest is arguably the finest living historian of the American Experience. He has written 30 books or so—all exceedingly well written, crisp, and engaging. Some of those books include: outstanding bios of Ben Franklin, US Grant, Ronald Reagan, FDR and TR, a great book about the California Gold Rush (The Age of Gold), as well as other period books about significant eras of US history (like the Cold War). Most great historians tend to specialize in a single period or topical domain. Prof Brands specializes in everything in American history, it seems. He is the Jack S. Blanton Senior Chair in History at the University of Texas.His latest book is a compelling case study, if you will, on two men’s reaction to the problem of slavery as America stumbled toward the Civil War. It asks the question, one central to many historical moments—not just slavery: “How does a good man challenge a great evil?” The men, John Brown and Abraham Lincoln. The book, and a fine one, indeed: The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown and Abraham Lincoln and the Struggle for Freedom. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.