Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution

From Publishers Weekly The argument of this brisk biography is summed up by the subtitle: Sam Adams (1722–1803)—whom most Americans know principally as that jolly guy on the beer bottles—was a major architect of American independence. Indeed, he was the only founding father to argue for independence from England before shots were fired at Lexington. A native Bostonian and brilliant political strategist, Adams led the protests in the 1760s over the Sugar and Stamp Acts, as well as the 1773 Boston Tea Party. After war broke out, he slowly nudged other leaders toward a decisive commitment to independence; Puls quotes Thomas Jefferson's description of Adams as "the fountain of our more important measures." Puls follows Adams's distinguished post-Revolutionary career: he weighed in on the Constitution and served as governor of Massachusetts. But, argues Puls (co-author of Uncommon Valor: A Story of Race, Patriotism, and Glory in the Final Battles of the Civil War ), Adams was mainly interested in local politics, and sought neither fame nor leadership in the early republic. This account lacks some of the everyday details that enliven biographies—in large part, no doubt, because Adams destroyed much of his correspondence. Still, early American history buffs will enjoy Puls's fine study. Illus.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist In this biography of Samuel Adams, Puls notes that Adams was conspicuous in the colonial defiance that culminated in the American Revolution, but his prominence waned after the War of Independence. That, according to Puls, was an effect of Adams' indifference to historical fame. But his American contemporaries were certain of the man's significance, and so was British royal authority, whose attempt to arrest Adams and John Hancock in 1775 sparked the Battle of Lexington. Puls' portrait, therefore, brings forward a figure overlooked in the contemporary flood of histories about the Founders. Recounting Adams' upbringing, Puls depicts Adams as feckless in business; he preferred talking and writing about politics. But if he was financially impractical, Adams proved masterful at political organization and propaganda, leading Boston's resistance to the succession of British revenue acts after 1763. Amid narrative attention to Adams' activity in assemblies, Puls ably dramatizes selected historical scenes such as the Boston Tea Party, giving history readers a restored sense of Adams' critical role in events. Gilbert Taylor Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “In the midst of the current surge of interest in the founders, the most conspicuous absence is Samuel Adams, an absence that most of his peers would have found inexplicable. Here, at last, is a new life of the man that recovers his crucial role as the Lenin of the American Revolution.” ― Joseph J. Ellis, bestselling author of Founding Brothers “Mark Puls has restored Sam Adams to his rightful place in the spotlight on the revolutionary stage. Puls' Adams is less the hotheaded rabble rouser of popular mythology than a kind of intellectual field marshall--yet one who had the audacity to put ideas to work when the time came to dump tea in Boston harbor. What a character, and what a drama!” ― James Tobin, award-winning author of To Conquer the Air “Required reading for anyone with even the slightest interest in how the United States of America came into existence.” ― Melvin Claxton, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism “A brief, sharply focused biography of the mastermind behind the American colonies' break with England, and the drive for independence. . . . Fully restores Adams to his rightful place as an indispensable provocateur of American liberty.” ― Kirkus “Early American history buffs will enjoy Puls' fine study.” ― Publishers Weekly “Amid narrative attention to Adams' activity in assemblies, Puls ably dramatizes selected historical scenes such as the Boston Tea Party, giving history readers a restored sense of Adams' critical role in events.” ― Booklist “More than beer. . . [This] new biography finally gives Boston's often underappreciated son of liberty his due.” ― Boston Magazine “Puls has written a highly readable biography of this fascinating man. Focusing on Adams' writing and tactics, [Puls] documents in meticulous detail how a man--armed with little else except his words--triggered a revolution and helped construct the foundations for a new nation. In crisp prose, Puls builds a convincing case that Adams left his indelible mark on all the major issues of the day. . . . Puls has restored Adams to his rightful place in our history. His new books breathes new life into Adams' legacy, showing the values he instilled continue to define our country even today.” ― The Tucson Citizen “Puls' book goes a long way toward creating the day when, one hopes, Sam Adams will set the standard for good politicians every bit as much as he does for good beer.” ― New York Post “Any Founding Father who ends his days in such a fighting spirit deserves still more of our attention. Samuel Adams is a good place to start.” ― The Wall Street Journal “This is an excellent book for those wanting to explore America's heritage and political history.” ― Lt. Cmdr. Youssef Aboul-Enein, MSC, USN Naval District Washington, The Waterline Mark Puls is the author of Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution , winner of the Fraunces Tavern award, and co-author of Uncommon Valor: A Story of Race, Patriotism and Glory in the Final Battles of the Civil War. Puls has worked as a journalist for The Detroit News . Read more