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"Read how one man with vision and courage profoundly changed America's landscape during the Civil War. We are indebted to Heller for uncovering this unheralded heroic figure. A great American story." General Richard B. Myers Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and currently a professor of Military History and Leadership at Kansas State University "George Luther Stearns lived a remarkable life and deserves a remarkable biography such as this one. Well researched, informative, and compelling in its arguments, Charles E. Heller's In Advance of Fate is a work that will be of value to anyone with an interest in Civil War America and the men who fought the good fight against slavery. Highly recommended." C. Ethan S. Rafuse Author of McClellan's War: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union and co-editor of The Ongoing Civil War: New Versions of Old Stories. "Dr. Charles E. Heller's impressively researched work tells the fascinating story of the transformation of Boston industrialist George L. Stearns from an apolitical citizen with only sympathetic leanings against slavery to a radical abolitionist, who ... boasted ..".I gave old John Brown every pike and rifle he carried to Harper's Ferry." Through Heller's tracing of Stearns' largely forgotten contributions we gain important insights into and understandings of the broader trajectory of America's violent confrontation with racial slavery.....is essential reading for those who seek to fully appreciate the moral vision, courage, determination, and commitment of Sterns and Massachusetts abolitionists." Bruce Mactavish Assistant Professor, History/Associate Dean College of Arts & Sciences, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas