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Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History
A bold reinterpretation of the causes and legacy of Nat Turner's rebellion―and the new definitive account.
In August 1831, a group of enslaved people in Southampton County, Virginia, rose up to fight for their freedom. They attacked the plantations on which their enslavers lived and attempted to march on the county seat of Jerusalem, from which they planned to launch an uprising across the South. After the rebellion was suppressed, well over a hundred people, Black and white, lay dead or were hanged. As news of the revolt spread, it became apparent that it was the idea of a single Nat Turner. An enslaved preacher, he was as enigmatic as he was brilliant. He was also something more―a prophet, one who claimed to have received visions from the Spirit urging him to act.
Nat Turner, Black Prophet is the fullest recounting to date of Turner’s uprising, and the first that refuses to tame or overlook his divine visions. Instead, it takes those visions seriously, tracing their emergence from the world of nineteenth-century Methodism, with its revivals, camp meetings, interracial churches, and Black preachers. The rebellion and its aftermath would hasten the end of this world, as Southern states further restricted the personal freedoms of the enslaved, even as the ongoing threat of revolt shaped the country’s politics. With this work of narrative history, the late historian Anthony E. Kaye and his collaborator Gregory P. Downs have given us a new understanding of one of the nineteenth century's most decisive events.
In August 1831, a group of enslaved people in Southampton County, Virginia, rose up to fight for their freedom. They attacked the plantations on which their enslavers lived and attempted to march on the county seat of Jerusalem, from which they planned to launch an uprising across the South. After the rebellion was suppressed, well over a hundred people, Black and white, lay dead or were hanged. As news of the revolt spread, it became apparent that it was the idea of a single Nat Turner. An enslaved preacher, he was as enigmatic as he was brilliant. He was also something more―a prophet, one who claimed to have received visions from the Spirit urging him to act.
Nat Turner, Black Prophet is the fullest recounting to date of Turner’s uprising, and the first that refuses to tame or overlook his divine visions. Instead, it takes those visions seriously, tracing their emergence from the world of nineteenth-century Methodism, with its revivals, camp meetings, interracial churches, and Black preachers. The rebellion and its aftermath would hasten the end of this world, as Southern states further restricted the personal freedoms of the enslaved, even as the ongoing threat of revolt shaped the country’s politics. With this work of narrative history, the late historian Anthony E. Kaye and his collaborator Gregory P. Downs have given us a new understanding of one of the nineteenth century's most decisive events.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 13, 2024
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August 24, 2024
Being an English person there's a lot of American history that I simply do not know. I know the "big" dates and have an understanding of what led to various aspects of US history and even some of the major players but until I saw (not read) a copy of Nat Turner's Confessions I had not heard of this man at all. Mea culpa.
In Nat Turner: Black Prophet Gregory Downs has completed and augmented/interpreted the work of the late Anthony Kaye.
The book describes Nat's upbringing and that of his wider family, his very early beginnings as, perhaps, a child genius and then prophet following which he leads a revolt within his home town amongst other enslaved people that he hoped would bring about a general revolution.
Sadly this did not happen and the book describes exactly what occurred during the revolt and it's equally horrific aftermath.
It is not an easy read and the hypocrisy of the church going whites is often extremely hard to deal with. However it is clear that Nat Turner should be considered as one of the most influential people of the time along with Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman and John Brown.
I listened to the audio which was beautifully narrated by Leon Nixon who had a measured delivery and did not over dramatise even the most disturbing aspects of the story. A thoroughly enjoyable listen.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Brilliance Audio for the audio advance review copy.
In Nat Turner: Black Prophet Gregory Downs has completed and augmented/interpreted the work of the late Anthony Kaye.
The book describes Nat's upbringing and that of his wider family, his very early beginnings as, perhaps, a child genius and then prophet following which he leads a revolt within his home town amongst other enslaved people that he hoped would bring about a general revolution.
Sadly this did not happen and the book describes exactly what occurred during the revolt and it's equally horrific aftermath.
It is not an easy read and the hypocrisy of the church going whites is often extremely hard to deal with. However it is clear that Nat Turner should be considered as one of the most influential people of the time along with Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman and John Brown.
I listened to the audio which was beautifully narrated by Leon Nixon who had a measured delivery and did not over dramatise even the most disturbing aspects of the story. A thoroughly enjoyable listen.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Brilliance Audio for the audio advance review copy.
April 13, 2024
This book is a look into the driving force behind the slave rebellion famously led by Nat Turner. The obvious motive would be to garner freedom and exact revenge for horrific abuses, however, Tony Kaye (and Gregory Downs) delve even deeper into the personal psyche of the man who put into motion what would become one of the turning points in American history.
Kaye examines the religious milieu of the 1830’s and how attitudes towards slavery intersected with those of righteous warfare. Into to this setting came a man who believed himself to be a prophet in the mold of a Moses leading his people from exile. I found this book to be a fascinating look into a tipping point in the antebellum South.
Having also read “Confessions” a few years ago, this book helped shine a new light and insight and imparted truer details to the story than the retelling of Thomas Gray’s interview with Nat in the days after his capture. What stands out in the history of Nat Turner is just how much of his story is unknown. Kaye’s diligent work fills as many of those gaps as possible and attempts to present us with what Nat may have been thinking and feeling at given moments along the way. As a contrast, “Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War” is a favorite of mine and it is not lost on me that we learn so much about Brown’s life before, after, and during the events at Harper’s Ferry because those details were available. Conversely there are so many gaps and unknowns in the life of Nat Turner, and we realize that it’s not for lack of research, as this book in its painstaking years of study can attest. But instead it’s a sad and ugly truth that we know little, because Nat Turner lived in a society that did not value the humanity and being of the black person.
I found this to be an insightful read, and a fitting bookend to the legacy of the author. The postscript included by Downs at the end of the book was also a heartfelt tribute to Kaye. A special thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced copy.
Kaye examines the religious milieu of the 1830’s and how attitudes towards slavery intersected with those of righteous warfare. Into to this setting came a man who believed himself to be a prophet in the mold of a Moses leading his people from exile. I found this book to be a fascinating look into a tipping point in the antebellum South.
Having also read “Confessions” a few years ago, this book helped shine a new light and insight and imparted truer details to the story than the retelling of Thomas Gray’s interview with Nat in the days after his capture. What stands out in the history of Nat Turner is just how much of his story is unknown. Kaye’s diligent work fills as many of those gaps as possible and attempts to present us with what Nat may have been thinking and feeling at given moments along the way. As a contrast, “Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War” is a favorite of mine and it is not lost on me that we learn so much about Brown’s life before, after, and during the events at Harper’s Ferry because those details were available. Conversely there are so many gaps and unknowns in the life of Nat Turner, and we realize that it’s not for lack of research, as this book in its painstaking years of study can attest. But instead it’s a sad and ugly truth that we know little, because Nat Turner lived in a society that did not value the humanity and being of the black person.
I found this to be an insightful read, and a fitting bookend to the legacy of the author. The postscript included by Downs at the end of the book was also a heartfelt tribute to Kaye. A special thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced copy.
August 26, 2024
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Anthony E. Kaye, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley.
This has very interesting historical aspects but there are serious problems with the portrayal of Nat in this narrative.
This text offers rich a plethora of historical information on Protestant churches in early colonial America, through the Revolution and into the early part of the 19th Century in which Nat's Rebellion occurs. This includes quite a lot of biblical information, bordering on too much, as well as information about the formation of the American Methodist Church.
The text also included interesting and relevant information about other Slave Uprisings in the Americas and the Caribbean, such as Gabriel Prosser and the Haitian Revolution. Not as successfully handled is the focus on assumptions regarding how enslaved folks felt about and processed the christian god. Missing in this narrative is the very real and documented practice of what are today called 'African Traditional Religions'(ATR) amongst the enslaved, even christians. Black American religious traditions & superstitions are entirely left out of this narrative and that includes meaningful discussion of Hoodoo, Conjure, Voodoo, etc. The idea that these cultural ideas and mythology in no way impacted Nat or that this was not as much a part of his everyday life as christianity is not a reasonable deduction.
For example Frederick Douglas, who was not known to be a believer in or practitioner of ATR, credited High John the Conqueror Root for fighting back against his overseer/enslaver.
It's not unreasonable to believe that if Nat was led by religion, it was likely more than Christianity.
The entire theory set forth in this text rests on the belief that the white interviewer, Gray, who recorded Nat's confessions in jail did so honestly. That's highly unlikely, as in there is to date no recorded incident of this ever happening, even when the white interviewer/biographer was friendly towards the Black person they interviewed. Also it assumes that Nat was candidly honest with Gray and I don't know why any adult with a reasonable understanding of history at this time period would give weight to either of these assumptions.
For an example I offer the debacle regarding Sojourner Truth's famous, 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech. The speech supposedly given by Ms. Truth and recorded by white feminists and abolitionist, Frances Dana Barker Gage, is now understood to be the offensive exaggeration of Ms. Gage. Frederick Douglas began his own paper, The North Star, in part because of the inaccuracies of white abolitionists. This theory is a major reach and the text never even addresses these questions in a frank and real manner.
The narrative attempts to tie Nat to biblical warriors more than other Black leaders of Uprisings during chattel slavery. Unfortunately over the course of the text this framing conjures up 'magical negro' stereotyping which is cringey at best.
The narratives tone toward Nat's Uprising is a touch condescending. There was a reference to Nat's 'bias' towards white people or white enslavers? It's unclear. This is a white supremacist view of Enslaved folks uprisings. Clearly, the biased party are the enslavers, who enslaved Black people. When someone is oppressed, hating your oppressor is both natural and normal. As Malcolm X said, it's not violence, it's common sense. In a very real sense its self defense. Bias would be if West Africans showed up in Europe to steal people and enslave them because they were European. Just wildly offensive to refer to an actual enslaved person as biased against their enslavers. I don't understand how that wasn't removed in editing, it's horribly white supremacist.
The modern understanding of and use of the word bias and why being biased is wrong is predicated on the idea that the biased person has no reason to hold bias, they are unharmed by the party they are biased against. For a victim to harm their enslaver isn't bias or violence, it's both common sense and self defense. The author is by default arguing that slave owners are more entitled to life than the Black people they enslaved. This racist thinking further implies that slavery is ok for Black people and for Black folks to fight against it and by default the white people employing that violence, using the same violent tools used against them is somehow immoral or biased on the part of the Black folks rebelling. This is just deeply offensive and unacceptable in a modern text about slavery.
The text directly states that Nat wasn't lead by 'modern' 'liberal' values like freedom and equality. This is just factually untrue. Even during the Antebellum period, enslaved folks repeatedly risked everything for freedom. Equality was a founding principle of both the French & Haitian revolutions. This is demonstrably not factual and reeks of a white historian will study this rationally and let the emotionally compromised Black folks know how they should feel about and view a member of their own community. This is just a horribly dated and white supremacist view of history.
In the final chapter the narration again seems to imply that Nat wasn't entitled to meet violence with violence in order to gain freedom. The text states that the slave owners that died might have changed their mind. This pretends as if slavery is a victimless, nonviolent crime. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those that died, died for the crimes they had already committed. Slavery itself was a crime characterized by unspeakable violence to an extent that can still be read on the bones of the enslaved today. The text doesn't really address the horror that made up everyday slavery: the beatings, the starvation, the lack of basic necessities like clothing and shelter, the family separation, the sexual violence participated in by every stratus of white society from the poor to the wealthy white men, women, children and everyone in between raped Black enslaved men, women, children and everyone in between. Black enslaved infants were used as bait for gators. Black enslaved peoples could have their anuses packed with gun powder because white men were bored. White men raped in packs in the slave quarters and they raped men particularly as part of the practice known as 'slave breaking'. Children were hung in closets for hours by their thumbs because they were the product of rape and it upset their white enslavers wives. The text overly focuses on the violence of the Uprising and refuses to equally focus on the violence that was everyday part of the system of chattel slavery in the Americas. How were Black folks supposed to be respond to that level of violence peacefully in a way that honored that their torturers might at some point have a change of heart? This is just an offensive and white supremacist view that values white life during what was a genocide of Black lives. It's a deeply offensive and tone deaf viewpoint.
This is disrespectful in the extreme because Black folks employed every avenue open to them to get away from slavery. They used every tool in their arsenal from lawsuits in court to outright running away. White people as a group employed vast amounts of violence including death to oppress Black folks. They deserved to be met with the force they employed and every white person that died in every single slavery uprising deserved it and more. The genocided don't owe their genociders anything. To suggest otherwise is deeply offensive and a core function of white supremacy.
The violence of white enslavers started at birth. Most white enslavers babies were nursed by Black enslaved women. Usually those women's own infants died of starvation while their milk was often exclusively reserved for the white enslaver infant. There were no innocent white folks who were enslavers, independent of their age. Also this is for the surviving descendants of the victims of this violence to decide, not the descendants of the enslavers of those victims to characterize and own. How dare this author even fix his fingers to type such an offensive, racist and white supremacist nonsense.
This was mostly disappointing and offensive. I'd say roughly 25% of the history contained in this text adds meaningfully to the history of Black folks enslaved in what is now the USA. Less than 5% of that useful information pertained to Nat Turner. This texts real value lies in the study of the rise of Protestant religions in North America. It's weakness is it's entire narrative on Nat Turner.
The narrator of this audiobook is Leon Nixon. Leon does a wonderful job keeping the text moving. This is somewhat weighty and heavy subject. The author's tone was lively and respectful.
Thank you to Anthony E. Kaye, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
This has very interesting historical aspects but there are serious problems with the portrayal of Nat in this narrative.
This text offers rich a plethora of historical information on Protestant churches in early colonial America, through the Revolution and into the early part of the 19th Century in which Nat's Rebellion occurs. This includes quite a lot of biblical information, bordering on too much, as well as information about the formation of the American Methodist Church.
The text also included interesting and relevant information about other Slave Uprisings in the Americas and the Caribbean, such as Gabriel Prosser and the Haitian Revolution. Not as successfully handled is the focus on assumptions regarding how enslaved folks felt about and processed the christian god. Missing in this narrative is the very real and documented practice of what are today called 'African Traditional Religions'(ATR) amongst the enslaved, even christians. Black American religious traditions & superstitions are entirely left out of this narrative and that includes meaningful discussion of Hoodoo, Conjure, Voodoo, etc. The idea that these cultural ideas and mythology in no way impacted Nat or that this was not as much a part of his everyday life as christianity is not a reasonable deduction.
For example Frederick Douglas, who was not known to be a believer in or practitioner of ATR, credited High John the Conqueror Root for fighting back against his overseer/enslaver.
It's not unreasonable to believe that if Nat was led by religion, it was likely more than Christianity.
The entire theory set forth in this text rests on the belief that the white interviewer, Gray, who recorded Nat's confessions in jail did so honestly. That's highly unlikely, as in there is to date no recorded incident of this ever happening, even when the white interviewer/biographer was friendly towards the Black person they interviewed. Also it assumes that Nat was candidly honest with Gray and I don't know why any adult with a reasonable understanding of history at this time period would give weight to either of these assumptions.
For an example I offer the debacle regarding Sojourner Truth's famous, 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech. The speech supposedly given by Ms. Truth and recorded by white feminists and abolitionist, Frances Dana Barker Gage, is now understood to be the offensive exaggeration of Ms. Gage. Frederick Douglas began his own paper, The North Star, in part because of the inaccuracies of white abolitionists. This theory is a major reach and the text never even addresses these questions in a frank and real manner.
The narrative attempts to tie Nat to biblical warriors more than other Black leaders of Uprisings during chattel slavery. Unfortunately over the course of the text this framing conjures up 'magical negro' stereotyping which is cringey at best.
The narratives tone toward Nat's Uprising is a touch condescending. There was a reference to Nat's 'bias' towards white people or white enslavers? It's unclear. This is a white supremacist view of Enslaved folks uprisings. Clearly, the biased party are the enslavers, who enslaved Black people. When someone is oppressed, hating your oppressor is both natural and normal. As Malcolm X said, it's not violence, it's common sense. In a very real sense its self defense. Bias would be if West Africans showed up in Europe to steal people and enslave them because they were European. Just wildly offensive to refer to an actual enslaved person as biased against their enslavers. I don't understand how that wasn't removed in editing, it's horribly white supremacist.
The modern understanding of and use of the word bias and why being biased is wrong is predicated on the idea that the biased person has no reason to hold bias, they are unharmed by the party they are biased against. For a victim to harm their enslaver isn't bias or violence, it's both common sense and self defense. The author is by default arguing that slave owners are more entitled to life than the Black people they enslaved. This racist thinking further implies that slavery is ok for Black people and for Black folks to fight against it and by default the white people employing that violence, using the same violent tools used against them is somehow immoral or biased on the part of the Black folks rebelling. This is just deeply offensive and unacceptable in a modern text about slavery.
The text directly states that Nat wasn't lead by 'modern' 'liberal' values like freedom and equality. This is just factually untrue. Even during the Antebellum period, enslaved folks repeatedly risked everything for freedom. Equality was a founding principle of both the French & Haitian revolutions. This is demonstrably not factual and reeks of a white historian will study this rationally and let the emotionally compromised Black folks know how they should feel about and view a member of their own community. This is just a horribly dated and white supremacist view of history.
In the final chapter the narration again seems to imply that Nat wasn't entitled to meet violence with violence in order to gain freedom. The text states that the slave owners that died might have changed their mind. This pretends as if slavery is a victimless, nonviolent crime. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those that died, died for the crimes they had already committed. Slavery itself was a crime characterized by unspeakable violence to an extent that can still be read on the bones of the enslaved today. The text doesn't really address the horror that made up everyday slavery: the beatings, the starvation, the lack of basic necessities like clothing and shelter, the family separation, the sexual violence participated in by every stratus of white society from the poor to the wealthy white men, women, children and everyone in between raped Black enslaved men, women, children and everyone in between. Black enslaved infants were used as bait for gators. Black enslaved peoples could have their anuses packed with gun powder because white men were bored. White men raped in packs in the slave quarters and they raped men particularly as part of the practice known as 'slave breaking'. Children were hung in closets for hours by their thumbs because they were the product of rape and it upset their white enslavers wives. The text overly focuses on the violence of the Uprising and refuses to equally focus on the violence that was everyday part of the system of chattel slavery in the Americas. How were Black folks supposed to be respond to that level of violence peacefully in a way that honored that their torturers might at some point have a change of heart? This is just an offensive and white supremacist view that values white life during what was a genocide of Black lives. It's a deeply offensive and tone deaf viewpoint.
This is disrespectful in the extreme because Black folks employed every avenue open to them to get away from slavery. They used every tool in their arsenal from lawsuits in court to outright running away. White people as a group employed vast amounts of violence including death to oppress Black folks. They deserved to be met with the force they employed and every white person that died in every single slavery uprising deserved it and more. The genocided don't owe their genociders anything. To suggest otherwise is deeply offensive and a core function of white supremacy.
The violence of white enslavers started at birth. Most white enslavers babies were nursed by Black enslaved women. Usually those women's own infants died of starvation while their milk was often exclusively reserved for the white enslaver infant. There were no innocent white folks who were enslavers, independent of their age. Also this is for the surviving descendants of the victims of this violence to decide, not the descendants of the enslavers of those victims to characterize and own. How dare this author even fix his fingers to type such an offensive, racist and white supremacist nonsense.
This was mostly disappointing and offensive. I'd say roughly 25% of the history contained in this text adds meaningfully to the history of Black folks enslaved in what is now the USA. Less than 5% of that useful information pertained to Nat Turner. This texts real value lies in the study of the rise of Protestant religions in North America. It's weakness is it's entire narrative on Nat Turner.
The narrator of this audiobook is Leon Nixon. Leon does a wonderful job keeping the text moving. This is somewhat weighty and heavy subject. The author's tone was lively and respectful.
Thank you to Anthony E. Kaye, Brilliance Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
August 23, 2024
I went into this book knowing about Nat Turner and his rebellion, but as I soon found out, I didn't actually
*KNOW*
about this man, his rebellion, and all the events leading up to it.
This book does a deep-dive into that time frame [the 1830's ] and all that it encompassed, especially from the unique perspective of religion [I grew up in church - Baptist - and I learned quote a bit from this book that I had never heard before in church {go figure} and all the Biblical knowledge that is within its pages ], how religion affected [and often encouraged ] slavery, and how religious fervor factored into the rebellion itself. The dive into the Methodist church and its fall into the evils of slavery was so disheartening to read and helped explain why Nat finally turned his back on that and chose rebellion [from what his prophecies were telling him ]. Reading this book was a completely eye-opening experience.
Expertly written and meticulously researched [both by the late Anthony Kaye and then by the man Mr, Kaye left his work to, Gregory P. Downs ], this is a must read for anyone who loves history, has heard this story and thought they *knew* it all, is interested in the time leading up to the Civil War, and all those who are continually doing the work to learn the truth and aren't afraid to do a deep-dive read to seek more of the truth.
I really love Leon Nixon as a narrator and was thrilled to see that he was narrating this book, and boy does he do an amazing job. He reads this often difficult book with ease and the right inflections and tone and I was sucked immediately into the story as soon as I turned this audiobook on. I highly recommend this audiobook - you will not be sorry.
Thank you to NetGalley, the late Anthony E. Kaye and his family, Gregory P. Downs, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, and Brilliance Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.
This book does a deep-dive into that time frame [the 1830's ] and all that it encompassed, especially from the unique perspective of religion [I grew up in church - Baptist - and I learned quote a bit from this book that I had never heard before in church {go figure} and all the Biblical knowledge that is within its pages ], how religion affected [and often encouraged ] slavery, and how religious fervor factored into the rebellion itself. The dive into the Methodist church and its fall into the evils of slavery was so disheartening to read and helped explain why Nat finally turned his back on that and chose rebellion [from what his prophecies were telling him ]. Reading this book was a completely eye-opening experience.
Expertly written and meticulously researched [both by the late Anthony Kaye and then by the man Mr, Kaye left his work to, Gregory P. Downs ], this is a must read for anyone who loves history, has heard this story and thought they *knew* it all, is interested in the time leading up to the Civil War, and all those who are continually doing the work to learn the truth and aren't afraid to do a deep-dive read to seek more of the truth.
I really love Leon Nixon as a narrator and was thrilled to see that he was narrating this book, and boy does he do an amazing job. He reads this often difficult book with ease and the right inflections and tone and I was sucked immediately into the story as soon as I turned this audiobook on. I highly recommend this audiobook - you will not be sorry.
Thank you to NetGalley, the late Anthony E. Kaye and his family, Gregory P. Downs, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, and Brilliance Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.
August 26, 2024
This is an excellent offering that examines Nat Turner - the world in which lived and key religious ideologies that shaped his beliefs.. There is extraordinary coverage on the rebellion itself and Turner’s justification of his actions. In other words, the novel delves into his mindset: why he was compelled to act and what fueled these motivations. I found this to be easily readable and brilliantly frames the social and legal restrictions in a digestible
Thanks to the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.
Thanks to the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.
February 17, 2024
Kaye's book does a great job at unpacking the Nat Turner rebellion, and does so from the unique perspective of religion. He provides some excellent background and context to the event, looking at the waves of religious change taking place in the country, as well as the impact of religion on enslaved people. Furthermore, he includes significant geographical context about the areas of rebellion and the social developments of the time. All of this makes for a much richer and deeper entry point into Turner's story. Turner, Kaye argues, can best be understood through the lens of religious fervor and racial discord that had been sweeping through the nation. In Ch. 3, he does a great job casting Turner in terms of being seen as a prophet, linking him to Methodism and Exodus imagery.
A key point for Turner was his insistence on being visited by a "Spirit" that called, maybe even commanded him to action. Beginning with the fifth chapter, Kaye then unpacks the narrative of the rebellion in great storytelling and captivating prose.
It would seem this book was influenced, consciously or unconsciously, but the focus of the impact of religious fundamentalism these days. It calls into question issues about the justification of violence, and the rationalization of such acts by theological means. This then might make readers wonder how close Nat Turner was to a cult leader, and what of the followers who bought into his messaging?
Kaye's book fills a hole in the historiography of Nat Turner in a profound and readable way. I feel like his story has finally been done justice.
A key point for Turner was his insistence on being visited by a "Spirit" that called, maybe even commanded him to action. Beginning with the fifth chapter, Kaye then unpacks the narrative of the rebellion in great storytelling and captivating prose.
It would seem this book was influenced, consciously or unconsciously, but the focus of the impact of religious fundamentalism these days. It calls into question issues about the justification of violence, and the rationalization of such acts by theological means. This then might make readers wonder how close Nat Turner was to a cult leader, and what of the followers who bought into his messaging?
Kaye's book fills a hole in the historiography of Nat Turner in a profound and readable way. I feel like his story has finally been done justice.
February 6, 2024
This is a really fascinating read. Until I read this book, I didn't realize how religiously motivated Turner was. The authors do their utmost to illuminate his entire worldview and the entire project makes him much more human.
This book was researched by Kaye before his death and he left extensive written notes and drafts. Downs then worked with that material, extensively re-writing most of it. His goal was to present Kaye's thoughts as best he could. The end result works well, IMO.
I received a digital copy of this book via Net Galley.
This book was researched by Kaye before his death and he left extensive written notes and drafts. Downs then worked with that material, extensively re-writing most of it. His goal was to present Kaye's thoughts as best he could. The end result works well, IMO.
I received a digital copy of this book via Net Galley.
June 9, 2024
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advance copy of this history about a major event in American history, that is still misunderstood, and one that still reverberates to this day, for different reasons.
History is written not only by the victors, but by those who don't want to deal with the truth. Some have good reasons, or at least tell themselves they do. Discussing this will only hold up the healing. Too many people will have a hard time getting past this. Let us just move on. Let the dead deal with the dead. Watching media today, we see this all the time. Most of the things we deal with as Americans, as citizens of this blue orb come from the fact that honest discussion is something most of us fear. No one wants to call a liar a liar, or wrong. Facts have lost meaning, because facts have been underrepresented. The story of Nat Turner is one of these stories, a story about a group who rose in mass to fight their oppressors, leading to the death of many, including the leaders. Some use Nat Turner as a rallying cry. Some as a tragedy, decrying the innocent women and children killed by his act of rebellion. A rebellion of course brought on by the act of enslavement. And maybe something more. Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History is the last book by historian Anthony E. Kaye with Gregory P. Downs completeing most of the writing. The book tells of the rebellion by Nat Turner from a new view, one that gives a different take, complete with added research on the man that was Nat Turner.
The book starts with an introduction that explains how the book came about, the trying conditions that Kaye was dealing with health wise, and how most of the book came to be written or rewritten by Downs. From there readers are introduced to a part of the South we don't hear much of the rise of religious groups. Methodism was a fast growing religion, that included black preachers, interracial gatherings, and a rise in the idea of prophecy. The book discusses how during the American Revolution, slaves sided with the British. A prominent preacher spoke of going to the Promised Land, and what could be for those who fought with the English. Of course more promises were made than were actually kept. However the idea that religion, not just the idea but that people could be prophets told hold. And this would have much influence on the thinking of Nat Turner, a preacher who also held ideas about rebellion.
There was a lot more to the book than I expected. I was thinking this would be a tale of rebellion, of rising up, but there was far more to this than I expected, and a far different punishment and way of thinking among survivors and those who wanted to be sure this could never happen again. The religious writing is very well done, and really sets the atmosphere for what is coming. I should be surprised that there is still much that is not known about Nat Turner, someone so infamous one would think would have a better backstory. Honestly thought, being a black man in the South, how could there be. The writing is very good, not a lecture but more a discussion, one that ranges over quite a lot of subject matter. One can see the work on the page, and how much in the way of new information has been discovered. Even the footnotes are educational, sending at least myself on alot of different Internet trips.
A powerful book and one that proves to be a great final work for a gifted writer, along with the aid of his co-writer. There is much to think about, and much to contemplate And a lot of truth, truth that might start makeing a difference.
History is written not only by the victors, but by those who don't want to deal with the truth. Some have good reasons, or at least tell themselves they do. Discussing this will only hold up the healing. Too many people will have a hard time getting past this. Let us just move on. Let the dead deal with the dead. Watching media today, we see this all the time. Most of the things we deal with as Americans, as citizens of this blue orb come from the fact that honest discussion is something most of us fear. No one wants to call a liar a liar, or wrong. Facts have lost meaning, because facts have been underrepresented. The story of Nat Turner is one of these stories, a story about a group who rose in mass to fight their oppressors, leading to the death of many, including the leaders. Some use Nat Turner as a rallying cry. Some as a tragedy, decrying the innocent women and children killed by his act of rebellion. A rebellion of course brought on by the act of enslavement. And maybe something more. Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History is the last book by historian Anthony E. Kaye with Gregory P. Downs completeing most of the writing. The book tells of the rebellion by Nat Turner from a new view, one that gives a different take, complete with added research on the man that was Nat Turner.
The book starts with an introduction that explains how the book came about, the trying conditions that Kaye was dealing with health wise, and how most of the book came to be written or rewritten by Downs. From there readers are introduced to a part of the South we don't hear much of the rise of religious groups. Methodism was a fast growing religion, that included black preachers, interracial gatherings, and a rise in the idea of prophecy. The book discusses how during the American Revolution, slaves sided with the British. A prominent preacher spoke of going to the Promised Land, and what could be for those who fought with the English. Of course more promises were made than were actually kept. However the idea that religion, not just the idea but that people could be prophets told hold. And this would have much influence on the thinking of Nat Turner, a preacher who also held ideas about rebellion.
There was a lot more to the book than I expected. I was thinking this would be a tale of rebellion, of rising up, but there was far more to this than I expected, and a far different punishment and way of thinking among survivors and those who wanted to be sure this could never happen again. The religious writing is very well done, and really sets the atmosphere for what is coming. I should be surprised that there is still much that is not known about Nat Turner, someone so infamous one would think would have a better backstory. Honestly thought, being a black man in the South, how could there be. The writing is very good, not a lecture but more a discussion, one that ranges over quite a lot of subject matter. One can see the work on the page, and how much in the way of new information has been discovered. Even the footnotes are educational, sending at least myself on alot of different Internet trips.
A powerful book and one that proves to be a great final work for a gifted writer, along with the aid of his co-writer. There is much to think about, and much to contemplate And a lot of truth, truth that might start makeing a difference.
April 27, 2024
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
“Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History” by Anthony E. Kaye, with contributions from Gregory P. Downs, is a compelling and meticulously researched work that offers a fresh perspective on one of the most enigmatic figures in American history. The book is set to be released on August 13, 2024, and promises to be a significant contribution to the field of historical literature.
At the heart of this narrative is the figure of Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher whose name is synonymous with the largest slave revolt in the United States. Turner’s rebellion in 1831 was a pivotal moment in American history, and Kaye’s work delves deep into the spiritual and prophetic dimensions that drove Turner to lead this uprising.
Kaye’s approach is unique in that he does not shy away from Turner’s divine visions. Instead, he places these spiritual experiences at the center of the narrative, tracing their roots back to the world of nineteenth-century Methodism. This context provides a rich backdrop against which the events of the rebellion unfold, offering readers a deeper understanding of Turner’s motivations and the religious fervor that fueled his actions.
The book also explores the broader implications of the rebellion, particularly how it accelerated the end of a world where interracial churches and Black preachers were more common in the South. The aftermath of Turner’s revolt led to stricter controls over the enslaved population, even as the fear of further uprisings continued to shape the political landscape.
Kaye, along with Downs, presents a narrative that is both historical and prophetic, one that honors Turner’s legacy without sanitizing the violence and desperation of his struggle for freedom. The prose is engaging, and the research is thorough, making “Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History” a must-read for anyone interested in the complexities of American slavery and the enduring impact of Turner’s rebellion.
In conclusion, this book is not just a recounting of historical events; it is an exploration of the human spirit’s quest for liberation and the profound ways in which faith can inspire revolutionary change. It is a testament to the power of visionaries like Nat Turner, who, despite the constraints of their time, dared to envision a world of freedom and fought valiantly to bring it into being.
“Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History” by Anthony E. Kaye, with contributions from Gregory P. Downs, is a compelling and meticulously researched work that offers a fresh perspective on one of the most enigmatic figures in American history. The book is set to be released on August 13, 2024, and promises to be a significant contribution to the field of historical literature.
At the heart of this narrative is the figure of Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher whose name is synonymous with the largest slave revolt in the United States. Turner’s rebellion in 1831 was a pivotal moment in American history, and Kaye’s work delves deep into the spiritual and prophetic dimensions that drove Turner to lead this uprising.
Kaye’s approach is unique in that he does not shy away from Turner’s divine visions. Instead, he places these spiritual experiences at the center of the narrative, tracing their roots back to the world of nineteenth-century Methodism. This context provides a rich backdrop against which the events of the rebellion unfold, offering readers a deeper understanding of Turner’s motivations and the religious fervor that fueled his actions.
The book also explores the broader implications of the rebellion, particularly how it accelerated the end of a world where interracial churches and Black preachers were more common in the South. The aftermath of Turner’s revolt led to stricter controls over the enslaved population, even as the fear of further uprisings continued to shape the political landscape.
Kaye, along with Downs, presents a narrative that is both historical and prophetic, one that honors Turner’s legacy without sanitizing the violence and desperation of his struggle for freedom. The prose is engaging, and the research is thorough, making “Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History” a must-read for anyone interested in the complexities of American slavery and the enduring impact of Turner’s rebellion.
In conclusion, this book is not just a recounting of historical events; it is an exploration of the human spirit’s quest for liberation and the profound ways in which faith can inspire revolutionary change. It is a testament to the power of visionaries like Nat Turner, who, despite the constraints of their time, dared to envision a world of freedom and fought valiantly to bring it into being.
August 25, 2024
Nat Turner, Black Prophet is a well-researched book. The author draws on primary sources that must have been difficult to decipher. Kudos for the research. Unfortunately, the book is not well-written, at least partially because the author has failed to clearly define his thesis.
One reason for these failings maybe because Anthony E. Kaye didn't write the book--Gregory P. Downs did. Kaye was dying of cancer when he sent Downs all his research and very preliminary drafts. Downs' job was to turn it all into a book.
It took me a long time to understand exactly where Downs was taking me. Even though Turner is called a "Black Prophet" right in the title, it took about 100 pages before I realized what Downs was trying to say. In essence, it's this: Nat Turner saw himself as a prophet like those in the Old Testament. This was because of his association with the Methodist church. The lessons of Methodism led Turner in this direction.
This thesis leads to another problem I found with the book: its failure to address the possibility that Turner was deranged. When I hear of people who claim to see visions and hear voices, I have two thoughts: #1--they're manipulative; #2--they're crazy. Downs is trying to give us a sane Turner, a man who carried out his rebellion because God was directing him to, just as God had directed the Old Testament prophets. Don't you see? It all makes sense now.
Except it doesn't. I'm willing to believe that Turner's Methodism informed some of his mental disturbance. I'm willing to believe that Turner's Methodism informed his rage. What I'm not willing to believe is that Turner honestly believed he was being spoken to by God--unless he's insane.
One reason for these failings maybe because Anthony E. Kaye didn't write the book--Gregory P. Downs did. Kaye was dying of cancer when he sent Downs all his research and very preliminary drafts. Downs' job was to turn it all into a book.
It took me a long time to understand exactly where Downs was taking me. Even though Turner is called a "Black Prophet" right in the title, it took about 100 pages before I realized what Downs was trying to say. In essence, it's this: Nat Turner saw himself as a prophet like those in the Old Testament. This was because of his association with the Methodist church. The lessons of Methodism led Turner in this direction.
This thesis leads to another problem I found with the book: its failure to address the possibility that Turner was deranged. When I hear of people who claim to see visions and hear voices, I have two thoughts: #1--they're manipulative; #2--they're crazy. Downs is trying to give us a sane Turner, a man who carried out his rebellion because God was directing him to, just as God had directed the Old Testament prophets. Don't you see? It all makes sense now.
Except it doesn't. I'm willing to believe that Turner's Methodism informed some of his mental disturbance. I'm willing to believe that Turner's Methodism informed his rage. What I'm not willing to believe is that Turner honestly believed he was being spoken to by God--unless he's insane.
August 27, 2024
I had a really hard time getting through this book. It wasn't a bad book, and it had some great information.
But the way it was written and the way the narrator narrated it?? Not great.
It read like a (somewhat boring) history book, and the narrator didn't do anything to make it more exciting or less boring. I also found it a bit... suspect? in places. It seemed like the author put too much of himself into the work. His opinions, his thoughts, his bias, etc.
It didn't always read like a factual account of history.
It's worth reading just to be exposed to the information (because there WAS some info in this book that I'd never heard before). But it's not presented in a very interesting and engaging way.
But the way it was written and the way the narrator narrated it?? Not great.
It read like a (somewhat boring) history book, and the narrator didn't do anything to make it more exciting or less boring. I also found it a bit... suspect? in places. It seemed like the author put too much of himself into the work. His opinions, his thoughts, his bias, etc.
It didn't always read like a factual account of history.
It's worth reading just to be exposed to the information (because there WAS some info in this book that I'd never heard before). But it's not presented in a very interesting and engaging way.
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