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Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Marc Aronson, Scott Reynolds Nelson
michelle_neuwirth_gray9311's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating look at who John Henry really was.
mmz's review against another edition
4.0
The author made an interesting choice to make the story of his own research the focus of this book. I think it worked really well in this case, given that there's so little known about the actual John Henry. Nelson is very up-front about the fact that much of his results are based on theory or conjecture, but overall the transparency of his research process gives a lot of weight to his conclusions. This is an interesting book both for what it tells us about the research process, but also for what we learn about John Henry's world.
erin_boyington's review against another edition
4.0
A historian tells the fascinating story of how he uncovered the tragic truth behind the folk songs about the American hero John Henry.
In the days of the transcontinental railroad, 40,000 Southern trackliners (mainly African-Americans) were erased by history. No one recorded their experiences. All researchers have left are scattered records and the work songs these forgotten men sang.
Scott Reynolds Nelson, author of Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend, recounts his quest for a young audience. Many different versions of the songs about John Henry's race with the steam engine exist, but one verse in particular - combined with a clue on an old postcard - led Nelson to look more closely at the Virginia Penitentiary: a place where the bones of 300 men were discovered buried in sand without any markers. That mass grave led the historian to the sad truth behind John Henry's ballad.
Ain't Nothing But a Man is an intriguing story of how historical research happens and of how the American transcontinental railroad was built (though some of the technical explanations were less than clear). Using illustrations from old photographs, socialist art, and old diagrams, Nelson relates a small part of the history of how the labor of thousands of unknown men led to tunnels through mountains and steel roads across America.
I only wish that Nelson had told us a little more about the reaction to finding the bodies at Virginia Penitentiary, and what happened to them after they were discovered. Where were they reburied? Did anyone search for the men's descendants?
The appendices are great for teachers hoping to get kids excited about historical research, and offer a few tips for doing your own fact-finding as well as plenty annotated sources for further reading.
A few of the books mentioned in the appendix:
Monica Halpern: Railroad Fever: Building the Transcontinental Railroad 1830-1870
Amy L. Cohn (Ed.): From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs
Mary Pope Osborne and Michael McCurdy: American Tall Tales
In the days of the transcontinental railroad, 40,000 Southern trackliners (mainly African-Americans) were erased by history. No one recorded their experiences. All researchers have left are scattered records and the work songs these forgotten men sang.
Scott Reynolds Nelson, author of Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend, recounts his quest for a young audience. Many different versions of the songs about John Henry's race with the steam engine exist, but one verse in particular - combined with a clue on an old postcard - led Nelson to look more closely at the Virginia Penitentiary: a place where the bones of 300 men were discovered buried in sand without any markers. That mass grave led the historian to the sad truth behind John Henry's ballad.
Ain't Nothing But a Man is an intriguing story of how historical research happens and of how the American transcontinental railroad was built (though some of the technical explanations were less than clear). Using illustrations from old photographs, socialist art, and old diagrams, Nelson relates a small part of the history of how the labor of thousands of unknown men led to tunnels through mountains and steel roads across America.
I only wish that Nelson had told us a little more about the reaction to finding the bodies at Virginia Penitentiary, and what happened to them after they were discovered. Where were they reburied? Did anyone search for the men's descendants?
The appendices are great for teachers hoping to get kids excited about historical research, and offer a few tips for doing your own fact-finding as well as plenty annotated sources for further reading.
A few of the books mentioned in the appendix:
Monica Halpern: Railroad Fever: Building the Transcontinental Railroad 1830-1870
Amy L. Cohn (Ed.): From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs
Mary Pope Osborne and Michael McCurdy: American Tall Tales
annieliz's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book was really interesting, but I'm not sure who the audience is. It's too short to "count" for older students' book reports (something I'm working on...) but the content does not seem to me to be appealing for a younger student. The book does tell the history of John Henry, which is very intriguing, but it does so through the lens of the process of historical research. The author describes his thought process and how he went about searching for information. I think this is really important, but I'm not sure yet how to present it to students. It's too long to do a read aloud... but it does merit discussion because it shows how researching involves dead ends and creative thinking. My other concern is that in trying to simplify the research process to fit in this book, some of the insights the author hits upon seem too coincidental. He makes connections that seem tenuous at best, but wind up being true. I know more went into his connections, but that is not explored here, I assume in the interest of keeping this book short.
All in all, though, I thought this was interesting, and could be very useful... I just haven't figured out how yet.
All in all, though, I thought this was interesting, and could be very useful... I just haven't figured out how yet.
daniellejones's review against another edition
5.0
Railroad historian Scott Reynolds Nelson tells his story and search to find who the real John Henry of folksong lore truly was. This book unfolds like a mystery keeping the reader engaged through early railroad history, the pitfalls of reconstruction, and the discovery of who was the real John Henry. Using examples from Nelson’s story, Marc Arson wraps up the book with a great discussion of how history is always changing, what primary and secondary sources are, and why they are so important. Young readers will find John Henry an intriguing subject as Reynolds brings him to life through his findings, as well as the many versions of the ballads and songs included in the book.
aangela1010's review
4.0
Way interesting. It was so neat to learn about the research put into this book.
pattydsf's review
3.0
“For years I had been following a trail, and it was stone cold. I wanted to know if there was a real John Henry, the man in the song who was so strong he beat a steam drill in a contest, but then laid down his hammer and died.”
This is a short book intended for children who are interested in history. I found it at my son and daughter-in-law’s house and thought I would just glance at the story line. I got hooked and read the whole book. Nelson does a great job of drawing his readers into his search for John Henry and making them want to know how it turns out.
I don’t know a lot of children who know that they want to be historians. However, kids are often given the assignment of reading non-fiction and I think that this might be a good book for that assignment.
This is a short book intended for children who are interested in history. I found it at my son and daughter-in-law’s house and thought I would just glance at the story line. I got hooked and read the whole book. Nelson does a great job of drawing his readers into his search for John Henry and making them want to know how it turns out.
I don’t know a lot of children who know that they want to be historians. However, kids are often given the assignment of reading non-fiction and I think that this might be a good book for that assignment.
bookish_afrolatina's review
5.0
This is a fascinating book about finding the truth behind the songs of John Henry through scholarly research, but also about the lives of black men who were forced into the convict leasing system in the South. Although this book looks like a children's book and I found it in the children's section of my library, I think it should be classified as closer to pre-teen texts. The descriptions of research, some of the vocabulary, and the subjects in this book seem more suited to students from 4th or 5th to 7th grade. It teaches you how to research historical topics and fosters feelings of curiosity and discovery.
I'd heard this story on tv, not too long ago, and was curious about it. This book reminded me that the historical record is not the only place to find clues after I hit dead ends in my research.
Highly recommended!
I'd heard this story on tv, not too long ago, and was curious about it. This book reminded me that the historical record is not the only place to find clues after I hit dead ends in my research.
Highly recommended!
singinglight's review
4.0
Nelson tells of his struggle to find information on the real John Henry. Fascinating story, and it would be especially valuable to anyone interested in the process of historical research. [Dec. 2008]
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