1848. The Bondi family is leaving for a better life in America. But 15-year-old August doesn¿t want to go. He¿s found his life¿s purpose in Vienna, fighting on the barricades against a tyrant king. In America, August learns to love his new freedom ¿ but the practice of slavery gnaws at his conscience. When an incident on a Texas riverboat forces the young firebrand to choose, he heads to Bleeding Kansas and the camp of the notorious John Brown. Action-packed narrative and contemporary dialogue shed new light on questions of race, violence, and conscience that kids confront today. Includes a factual preface and epilogue with two pages of maps to immerse readers in Bondi¿s world.Firebrand is an innovative work of historical fiction ¿ a ¿mashup¿ of the autobiography of Jewish freedom fighter August Bondi (1833-1907) and the 1958 novel Border Hawk, based on Bondi¿s memoir and written by future Newbery and National Book Award winner Lloyd Alexander. Aaron Barnhart¿s previous historical work was praised for ¿taking the complex ¿ and rendering it reader-friendly¿ (Kansas City Star). Now Aaron has reimagined August¿s amazing story to inspire a new generation of readers.