Samuel Adams: A Life

by Ira Stoll

Book Overview

The gripping story of the man who was the American Revolution's moral compass--Ira Stoll tells readers who Samuel Adams was, why he has been forgotten, and why he must be remembered.

Thomas Jefferson called Samuel Adams "truly the man of the Revolution." Adams, filled with religious fervor, inspired others to fight on and overcome the challenges of the Revolutionary War. He was the editor of the influential Boston Gazette, planner of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743299124
• ISBN13: 9780743299121
• Release Date: November 2009
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

An Under Appreciated Founder

This is a very good book and is an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the motivations of the founders. Samuel Adams is often overlooked and his achievements under-appreciated. Reading Stoll's biography fits very well into other books covering the period, in particular it fills in some gaps with McCullough's 1776, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, and The Real George Washington (American Classic Series). Stoll does a great job illustrating the unique mixture of religious belief and the age of reason that characterized the American revolution. Reading this book you get a sense of the importance that many of the founders attributed to maintaining the moral high ground. Both Washington and Adams believed that as dire as things were at times, their cause was just and that God would stick with a virtuous people. Both perpetually advocated for days of thanksgiving, prayer and fasting. Aside from the religious aspects of Adam's motivation was the sheer determination and effort that he put into the cause. It's interesting to read of the numerous achievements accomplished by Samuel Adams. He was one of the earliest proponents of independence, a masterful user of the written word to disseminate information and raise the ire of the populace. He took advantage of every British misstep to ensure that the most was made of it. His attacks on the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, and other events kept the cause in the forefront of not just Massachusetts but other colonies as well. He served in both the first and second continental congresses where he worked tirelessly on countless committees, taking up the slack for delegates that went home. He never relented in his efforts. He was also and incredibly honorable man who never took advantage of his position for monetary gain. He was incredibly frugal with public coffers when he served as governor of Massachusetts. In addition to his actions and roles, the book also chronicles his relationship with other founders, notably John Hancock, his cousin John Adams, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. This is a relatively quick read, but packed with interesting information. I've written a bit more at [...]

Revealing. Historical. Fascinating.

SAMUEL ADAMS: A LIFE is a remarkable story about a remarkable man. Patriot, founder, revolutionary, politician and statesman, Samuel Adams was a light that burned very brightly during the tumultuous, dangerous, heady days during the birth of America. Time and time again, revolutionary zeal faded to timidity and fear. Patriots' courage failed. Plans went desperately awry. And time and time again, Samuel Adams and his close band of freedom fighters rallied themselves and others to the cause of liberty. Tirelessly, they labored, far from friends and family, to bring to fruition the fruit of their rebellion, a unified country. As a man of faith, Adams saw God's providential hand in the birth of a free nation; out from under the tyrannical rule of English kings and potentates. Whether the focus of his pen and fervor was the practice of religion (for Protestants, anyway), the oppression of British troops, or taxes, Adams' goal was always the same: freedom. Freedom. The potent, liberating drink of free men and women to live their lives without interference from anything but their own conscience. Liberty. High and noble ideals of government by consent of the governed. Was such a thing possible? At what cost. To these noble virtues cast Adams, Jefferson, Hancock and others their names, sacred honor, and earthly fortunes. The fires of rebellion burned brightly and none more brightly than the heart, mind, and mouth of Samuel Adams. To this day, his contributions to the Massachusetts Constitution, US Constitution, and underpinnings of the Declaration of Independence live on. No Founding Father contributed more or at a greater price than Adams.

Highly recommended for public and college library collections alike

Written by veteran journalist and managing editor of "The New York Sun" Ira Stoll, Samuel Adams: A Life is an in-depth biography of one of America's founding fathers, Samuel Adams. Adams helped stir up the Boston Tea Party (though he did not participate in it), denounced "taxation without representation" as a newspaper editor, and after the Revolution he worked in politics, eventually serving as elected governor of Massachusetts. Notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this eminently readable biography balancing what is known about Adams personal and religious life with his historic contribution to early American independence and politics. Samuel Adams: A Life is highly recommended for public and college library collections alike.

Even better than the beer.

This is a must-buy for anyone who loved McCullough's John Adams or Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin. Ira Stoll puts Sam Adams back where he belongs, front and center with the great founding fathers. But "Samuel Adams, A Life" is not merely a work of history, it is a powerful argument about the ideas that made America and still, to this day, shape the nation. Stoll demonstrates, through the life and writing of Adams, how much religion and property rights motivated the revolutionaries of New England. From the first chapter, I felt I was not just learning about important history, but I was also gaining insight into the character of America. This book is bound to help change how we think about the Revolution. And it will help us understand how Sam Adams continues to influence our own era.

The Soul of the American Revolution

In "Samuel Adams: A Life," journalist Ira Stoll has rescued from relative (and undeserved) obscurity one of the most influential and fascinating figures of the American Revolutionary generation. Samuel Adams was one of the earliest and most zealous of the Boston firebrands. At the same time, he was imbued with a worldview inherited from his Puritan ancestors that placed the urgent events of the day in God's time. His "religious tranquillity" was much commented upon by his contemporaries, and Stoll is committed to understanding the paradox of the "tranquil revolutionary." Stoll's crystal clear and plain-spoken prose is entirely fitting for his equally plain-spoken subject. What emerges is a full-blooded portrait of a man whose idea of America resonates -- and often tellingly contrasts -- with positions on the right and left in our own debates about the nation's course and what it means to be a patriotic American. For history scholars and enthusiasts, for anyone interested in the origins of American political culture, and for today's political junkies, this book is a wonderful read.