Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend
Written by Scott Reynolds Nelson
Narrated by Panama Jackson
()
About this audiobook
The ballad "John Henry" is the most recorded folk song in American history and John Henry--the mighty railroad man who could blast through rock faster than a steam drill--is a towering figure in our culture.
In Steel Drivin' Man, Scott Reynolds Nelson recounts the true story of the man behind the iconic American hero, telling the poignant tale of a young Virginia convict who died working on one of the most dangerous enterprises of the time, the first rail route through the Appalachian Mountains. Using census data, penitentiary reports, and railroad company reports, Nelson reveals how John Henry, victimized by Virginia's notorious Black Codes, was shipped to the infamous Richmond Penitentiary to become prisoner number 497, and was forced to labor on the mile-long Lewis Tunnel for the C&O railroad. Equally important, Nelson masterfully captures the life of the ballad of John Henry, tracing the song's evolution from the first printed score by blues legend W. C. Handy, to Carl Sandburg's use of the ballad to become the first "folk singer," to the upbeat version by Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Attractively illustrated with numerous images, Steel Drivin' Man offers a marvelous portrait of a beloved folk song--and a true American legend.
Scott Reynolds Nelson
Scott Reynolds Nelson is assistant professor of history at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Related to Steel Drivin' Man
Related audiobooks
Floodpath: The Deadliest Man-Made Disaster of 20th Century America and the Making of Modern Los Angeles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5John Henry Days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Dick North's Mad Trapper of Rat River Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chief Engineer: Washington Roebling, The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Five for Freedom: The African American Soldiers in John Brown's Army Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Dragon River: A Journey Down the Amur River at the Borderlands of Empires Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sons of Molly Maguire: The Irish Roots of America's First Labor War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Levon: From Down in the Delta to the Birth of The Band and Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of Beautiful Nell Cropsey: A Nonfiction Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mason-Dixon: Crucible of the Nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWho Do You Think You Are? Songs of Festive Joy: Episode 60 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Revolutionary Paul Revere Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Skydog: The Duane Allman Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Will Rise: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Broadway: A History of New York City in Thirteen Miles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After America: Narratives for the Next Global Age Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Civil War Collection: The Complete Story of America's Epic Struggle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm Just Dead, I'm Not Gone Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession, and the Birth of the Lie Detector Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An American Childhood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
General Fiction For You
A Court of Thorns and Roses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Frost and Starlight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Mist and Fury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Return of the King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If He Had Been with Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Wings and Ruin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Duke and I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Two Towers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Omens: A Full Cast Production Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stardust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Neverwhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Me: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Darker Shade of Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dead Zone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Steel Drivin' Man
0 ratings0 reviews