A compelling new look at the story of five African Americans — nearly a third of John Brown’s raiders in 1859 — who collectively have never been the subject of a book. Five for Freedom is the story of these five brave men, the circumstances in which they were born and raised, how they came together at this fateful time and place, and the legacies they left behind. It is an American story from the past that continues to resonate in the present. Writes Margot Lee Shetterly, author of Hidden Figures, “Eugene Meyer has given the story of John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry new meaning and relevance by restoring Brown’s black collaborators to their rightful place in history.”

Eugene L. Meyer, author of two previous books, is an award-winning veteran journalist with eclectic interests but special passions for history, lifestyles, travel, real estate and the Chesapeake Bay. He has been widely published in magazines, authored two books and was for many years a reporter and editor at the Washington Post. Since leaving the Post in 2004, Meyer has garnered more than a dozen awards for his work, and has had more than 50 bylines in the New York Times. His first journalism job was as Washington bureau librarian for the old New York Herald Tribune, where he got to tag along with a White House reporter and watch the 1964 Civil Rights Act being signed into law. 

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