The Fires of Jubilee details the origins, execution, and outcome of Nat Turner's ill-fated three-day slave revolt. Stephen Oates writing, a bit florid in places, certainly conveys both the abject misery and injustice of slavery as practiced in rural Virginia in the first quarter of the 19th century as well as the horrors suffered by whites and blacks alike during his followers' murderous spree in Southampton County and the inevitable military action to suppress the rebellion... not to mention acts of vigilantes throughout Virginia and North Carolina against blacks thought to be involved in the Turner conspiracy. Oates is very good at balancing the reliability of Confessions of Nat Turner against what other historians have said about them. I found this an interesting book in light of local history (currently residing in Suffolk). If you're only going to read one book on this topic this is the one to get. Illustrated with maps.
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