Two waves of propaganda obscured what Brown did in Kansas. First, in 1856 the press generally sensationalized the "sack of Lawrence" and minimized the massacre on Pottowatomie Creek. Second, after Brown was executed and extending for several decades beyond the war, those who would deify (or at least "hero-fy") Brown first claimed Brown had nothing to to with Pottowatomie, and only after having been forced to admit his involvement, then sought to justify his actions on the basis of a whole litany of lies about what had precipiated the executions. Malin's "The Legend of 56" has been decribed as having an anti-Brown bias, but If there is more complete documentation and analysis of the myths and reality of Brown in Kansas, I have yet to see it.