A Light in the Dark: The Life of Samuel Gridley Howe - Hardcover

A valiant fighter in the war against ignorance, Samuel Gridley Howe epitomized the generous, versatile spirit of the nineteenth century. He was a pioneer in social reform and education, and his zeal for a good cause was combined with action and intelligence. Like many young men of his generation, Howe was stirred by the Greek War of Independence, but unlike them he brought more than enthusiasm to the aid of the Greeks. After finishing Harvard Medical School, he served in Greece as military surgeon as well as guerrilla, and when his six adventurous years of fighting were ended he remained to help rebuild the country. When he returned home to Boston, a second phase of his career began. As the first director of the Perkins Institution for the Blind, he studied, invented alphabets and teaching devices, created a whole new science, and saw it bring light and life to pupils who had been thought unteachable. This remained his lifework - and the almost miraculous education of the deaf and blind Laura Bridgman was his greatest triumph. But it was impossible for a man of Sam Howe's energy and talents to limit himself to one area. Public education and the training of teachers, humane treatment for criminals and the insane, were some of his concerns. He wrote and spoke against slavery, and, as chairman of Boston's Vigilance Committee, aided in the rescue of fugitive slaves. He was one of the "Secret Six" who sponsored John Brown's raid. Author Meltzer has here brought Howe to life, in all the richness and complexity of his character and ideas, and given us a picture of a stormy age and a man who was a hero of action and ideas.