Why I read the book: I’ve had it on my shelf so long I don’t even remember where I got it. I’ve read biographies of many of the founding fathers and want to read the rest — and Samuel Adams was one I hadn’t read yet.

What the book was about: It was very much a political biography of Adams, a complete politician if ever there was one. He saw his opportunity in 1764 when Great Britain passed the Stamp Act, taxing the American colonies to pay for the French and Indian War. From that time on, Adams was a vocal opponent of Parliament. In fact, he was one of the first voices in favor of complete independence. But as a politician, he also knew how important it was to move no faster than the “people.”

Adams helped the people along in their opinions with his violent attacks against the Crown’s governor in Massachusetts, against Parliament, and against any law that could possibly be construed to diminish the rights of Americans. As an example, here’s what he said when he found out that the governor of the colony was to be paid directly by the Crown: This policy would pave the way for “episcopates and their numerous ecclesiastic retinue; pensioners, placemen and other jobbers, for an abandon’d and shameless ministry; hirelings, pimps, parasites, panders, prostitutes and whores.” If the authorities were too slow in acceding to his demands, Adams would sic the Liberty Boys (the high-sounding name for the mob), on them. Very few men were able to withstand the threat. He actually forced the ships carrying the tea to enter Boston Harbor so that his “Mohawks” could stage the Boston Tea Party.

In time, Adams found a way to carry not just Massachusetts but the entire country along on his coattails. Miller says, “The committees of correspondence that made the American Revolution possible were the town committees dominated by local ‘Sam Adamses’ who were in close touch with Boston and other centers of radicalism. These committees owed their origin to Sam Adams.”

Once the war began, Adams lost some of his purpose. As a member of the Continental Congress, he opposed Washington’s generalship. For a time after war, he spent his energy attempting to instill Puritan virtues into Bostonians, but when the French Revolution came along, he became a complete Jacobin. His last political act was to run as an elector to oppose the election of his cousin John Adams to the presidency. He lost.

What I liked about the book: It was very well written. Miller has a style that makes him very easy to follow even when immersed in detailed politics. The book was also an excellent refresher on the events leading up to the American Revolution: the Stamp Act crisis; the Boston Massacre; the Committees of Correspondence; the Boston Tea Party; and the two Continental Congresses.

What I didn’t like about the book: It concentrated so heavily on the political side of Adams’ life that I didn’t get to know much about the man at all. A brief paragraph on a failed brewery when he was a young man, and an even briefer sentence about success in land speculation in Jamaica are all the book has to say about how he made a living. I know he was a tax collector for a time because Miller writes about the 7,000 pounds in arrears his account was when he left office. I found out his first wife died without any memory of reading that he got married. There’s little more about his second wife, and I have no idea if he had any children.

The most interesting quote: Sam Adams had been frequently warned by his friends that he was in danger of being seized by the British military authorities, clapped in irons, and taken to England to be tried as a rebel. It was said that the British officers who attended Warren’s Massacre Oration [to celebrate the anniversary of the Boston Massacre] planned to carry off Adams and other Whig chiefs when the signal — throwing an egg in Warren’s face — was given. The patriots believed they had escaped unscathed because the soldier who had been entrusted with the delicate business of throwing the egg slipped and broke it on his way to the meetinghouse.

Recommendation: I gave it an 8. If you’re a fan of politics, or especially of political history, you’ll like it. If you’re more into biographies that include a lot of personal anecdotes, this one isn’t for you.

Further Comments: I’ve heard of Samuel Adams’ beer. I’m guessing somebody found out that Samuel Adams inherited a brewery from his father and thought it would be clever to name a beer after him. According to this book, however, “Owing to Sam’s mismanagement [of his father’s estate] precious little remained of it after ten years besides the house and brewery on Purchase Street, now sadly weather-worn and in disrepair.”