Member Discussion for “The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams” — November 2023

We want to hear from you while you’re reading this month’s book.

By The Dispatch Staff

Oct 30, 2023

16

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Conversations (16)

Comments (16)

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Kfrancis1348 5 months ago

One of the unexpected benefits of my Dispatch membership is the Book Club. The Revolutionary was not a book I would have discovered on my own, but I really enjoyed reading this story. I am amazed how little I knew about the backstory of the revolution and the role of Samuel Adams. I found it interesting the times he was less than truthful in some of his public writings and found some interesting similarities to today's media environment. Thanks Sarah!

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Clifford Luebben 5 months ago

To Sarah and others interested in a book on those reacting to the Revolution from the other side of the pond, The Last King of America by Andrew Roberts is an excellent biography of King George III

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Taylor Brill 6 months ago

Fun interview! I didn’t realize she also wrote the Salem witch trials book too

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John Dixon 6 months ago

.I found the book quite interesting. A more detailed picture of the years leading up to the fight for independence than other books I have read. The opposite of a Horatio Alger ending with obvious hero having a less than exotic end to his life. The contrast of Samuel Adams life of dedication to the independence cause contrasts with the crowding out of his legacy for others who benefited much from his work but gained most of the glory based on the written record of most historians.

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Calvin.Siler 6 months ago

I just listened Jonah's Saturday Remnant. He mentioned Levin's book the Great Debate about Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke and discussed the differences between conservativism, liberalism, and Forwardness (progressivism).

What are some people's thoughts on how those categories map onto the history of Samuel Adams and the independence movement in Boston?

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Kahagen0330 6 months ago

Every time I read about the revolution and the early days of the American “experiment” I’m amazed at tenuous it was. How it seems to have hung by a single thread so many times. This book left me marveling at how much may have rested on the efforts of one man, and his creation of the Committee of Correspondence in particular, and how much of what was circulated was actually lies and exaggerations.

It also had me thinking about other historical figures who seem to be perfectly matched to their moment but only for a time, and then are out of place. Churchill? Hamilton?

I picked this one up because the book Cleopatra by the same author is one of my favorite books, and while I enjoyed this very much, I agree with some of the other comments that it was confusing at times.

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Calvin.Siler 6 months ago

I'm struck by the similarity between Schiff's description of 18th century Boston and the way Dan Senor talked about Isreal in the recent episode of the Remnant. Both a "small countries with a big story". Both seem to try to balence civic participation and individualism. Both place a high value on education.

I think I have also discovered that Samuel Adam's might be the founding father with whom I have the most similarities of personality.

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Nancybrink 6 months ago

Is anyone else finding that all those pre-revolution hijinks are hitting differently than they used to? All that arguing about what was and wasn’t an insurrection…

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Calvin.Siler 6 months ago

Thomas Hutchinson didn't know what time it was.

But in all seriousness, I wish the author had spent a little more time on Adam's Harvard graduation thesis and the theological foundations for a right to revolution within the Calvinist/Puritan tradition.

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James.Cauley 6 months ago

Very interesting book. Enjoyed learning so much about the great dedication and skill of Sam Adams. However, this needed a good edit to make sure it flowed. For example, there were way too many references to a last name of a person, with no reference to who the person is or even their full name. I then guess that I failed to remember a previous passage on the person. So I look at the index to find the prior reference to refresh my memory. To my surprise, I find that the person is first mentioned in the book on the page that I am just now reading, as well as their full name. (I did not forget a prior passage, but perhaps an editor cut it.) So off to research who this mystery person is. What position did the person hold? Who did they align with? Frustrating to read. It does not flow well, but the story is intriguing.