In a tribute to the two hundredth anniversary of Harriet Beecher Stowe's birth, David S. Reynolds reveals her book's impact not only on the abolitionist movement and the American Civil War but also on worldwide events, including the end of serfdom in Russia, down to its influence in the twentieth century. He explores how both Stowe's background as the daughter in a famously intellectual family of preachers and her religious visions were fundamental to the novel. And he demonstrates why the book was beloved by millions-and won over even some southerners-while fueling lasting conflicts over the meaning of America. --from publisher description