Reviews

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff

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fivetilnoon's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Great view of the build-up to revolution from a Boston perspective. Sam Adams was one of the most famous founding fathers at the time but his reputation has been eclipsed by others that did better at self promotion and continued their role in the new republic. Adams was an exaggerator, a trouble-maker, and at times a straight-up liar for American rights. He was a better revolutionary than a statesman.

Notes:

Poor his whole life
Fame declined after revolution, unlike the other revolutionaries
Fame at the time was great. When John Adams traveled to France, he was at first confused with Samuel
A liar and an exaggerator in his newspaper articles. Often untruthful to get his way.
Adams idea of Committees of Correspondence laid framework for uniting colonies and revolution.
Parliament had a very poor understanding of the colonies and their concerns. Unintended consequences of legislation.
Opponent of Hancock in later years
Was a nuisance after the war, better suited for conflict than governing. Opposed Federalism.

edgoff's review against another edition

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3.0

Gosh, it really long in the middle. I switched to audiobook for about 3 chapter and picked up the book in ch 13. Overall, it was interesting, but I had a hard time keeping my attention to the subject.

swbowers's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

3.0

someonesmom's review against another edition

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5.0

This is the second Stacy Schiff book I have read (The Witches, another fantastic book, was my first). Sam Adams is not just the guy on the beer label, but the man who lit the fire of the Revolution.
Trying to manifest her writing one about Dr. Joseph Warren, another founding father who deserves more attention.

jdusell's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

3.0

yshaheen's review against another edition

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2.0

I read The Revolutionary for a book club and that is the only reason I was able to finish this monotonous read. I wanted to love it because I listened to a podcast with Schiff and knew how much work and years of research go into her novels. While it was interesting to learn about Samuel Adams, a profound historical figure that was central to the American Revolution yet one we hear so little about, this book just dragged. It was a utter slog to get through. Everyone I chatted with in book club is struggling to get through it. We all let out a collective sigh when each of us learned that we were not the only one finding this book to be a bore. It is not concise and difficult to follow. I had to often reread passages to figure out who Schiff was talking about. There would randomly be a "big" word that just seemed to be plucked from a thesaurus. The editing on this book was really lacking. I just had to set a daily goal of 10-15 pages per day just to get through this. That is unfortunate because I do think Samuel Adams' contribution to the revolution could be a fascinating book. Unfortunately this isn't it.