Customer Reviews

Give Me Liberty: The Christian Patriotism of Patrick Henry (Leaders in Action)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a delightful read this book has been. The author displays a clear and deep admiration for his subject, but I find no fault in that. The book reads very easily without a lot of stilted verbiage, making it a wonderful introduction of the great orator to the student.
There is not a lot of detailed analysis here, but I don't believe that was the authors' intention. This work is meant to be an outline and introduction Henry, the Trumpet of the Revolution.

The work is actually presented as three separate volumes in one binding. Part 1 takes the reader from birth to death, touching on the momentous occasions, as well as a good bit of reference to the details of life which shaped the life of Henry. Part 2 gives Henry's views of some of life's virtues, such as Christianity, patriotism and duty and gives an insightful look at the character of this great American. Part 3 concludes with how Henry has been remembered by history, and how he should be remembered.

Overall, a delightful read which I highly recommend to students or anyone wishing to gain a basic insight to a great American patriot.

Give Me Liberty tells the story of most important, yet often overlooked, cause of American freedom. He was known by Jefferson, Randolph and Lee as The Trumpet of the Revolution.

This book includes many exerps from his speeches and writings and offers a more accurate version of his faith and family than I've found elsewhere. If you love freedom, read this book!

Dr. George Grant is perhaps of the foremost modern historians, and his 'Leadership In Action' series deserves special attention. Rev. Vaughan is an excellent writer. He seeks to educate his reader about Patrick Henry's life and character, rather than mention uncaring, cold, and pointless facts. Vaughan applies Patrick Henry's life lessons to our future leaders, offering advice and direction where others just demand action. Henry is not often written about by modern historians. He is very a 'hidden' legend of American History. He was not an outstanding person in his social life, and he did not try to be in the lime light. Henry diligently sought to due his duty quietly and passionately. Patrick Henry was a truly Christian man concerned about the future generations of Virginians, Americans, and Christians. Anyone who is also concerned about such things should read this book and learn from a veteran warrior for Christ.

I was somewhat disappointed with this short book. The author seems to have targeted the book to young people rather than older, more demanding readers. The book is comprised of very short, easy-to-read chapters written with too much moral heavy-handedness. The second half is nothing but a series of chapters on the moral lessons of his life with a decidedly religious take. A hagiography for early adolescents. This is not a book that takes much time to develop more complex themes of his life, times, and ideas.

Nevertheless, I finished the book with great admiration for Patrick Henry and an eagerness to read more about him and his ideas. I came to the book wanting to know more about the Anti-Federalists, as Henry was the most visible leader. I didn't get what I was searching for in this book. An okay book for young people but too simplistic and pat for others wanting a more intellectually demanding examination of the man.

Give Me Liberty is a biographical look at the leadership of Patrick Henry. The author relies heavily on the speeches and writings of Henry and his contemporaries, thus giving the reader an accurate depiction of this noble statesman. This book is a refreshing departure from the revisionist history texts that are now so common.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and it held some new information on Patrick Henry of which I, a professed afficionado of the man, was not aware. It is written in simple, understandable language, but it ended up becoming a little redundant as it progressed, repeating some things from chapter to chapter as if the author thought that a person would be jumping around to read only segments of interest, rather than reading through from start to finish. But I would still recommend it to anyone who asked.

This is an excellent series of books edited by George Grant. Chase down the entire Leaders in Action series and enjoy! I especially loved this, as well as "The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee" by J. Steven Wilkens. great job!! should be required reading in school.

It was wonderful to see Patrick Henry's Christian values and belief on the LORD JESUS CHRIST openly written about. I enjoyed it completely and would recommend it to any who enjoy studying the Revolutionary War. BUY IT!

Give Me Liberty is good because its subject--Patrick Henry--is so interesting, influential, and great. The book is divided into three sections: Henry's life; his character; and (briefly) his legacy. His life was amazing (perhaps more important to the Revolution than anyone save George Washington), his character was almost impeccable, and his legacy is enduring. Author David Vaughan writes on the backs of others: his sources are secondary. Vaughan also writes from a Calvinist perspective. That causes him to treat Henry's Christianity seriously, but also causes him to overstate Calvinism's importance. For instance, Vaughan all but says that Calvinists brought religious liberty to the colonies; he ignores the Baptists' profound influence in securing religious liberty and the history of Puritan persecution of Baptists in New England. There are a few other problems with the book: Vaughan treats Henry as almost flawless. And--perhaps due to the format (separate sections concerning Henry's life, character, and legacy)--there are many repetitions, which should not happen in an under 300 page (with small page size) biography. Despite these problems, Give Me Liberty contains a concise, interesting, and readable study of Henry and the leadership qualities he exhibited.

First, let me apoligize for not having a bibliography of better works on this truly amazing man. I love this country and the giants who founded our country did so on ideals of freedom and liberty, often at great cost to themselves. While the status quo would have served them well, many of them sacrificed of themselves for higher ideas. It makes one reflect where we are as a nation when we do not teach these ideals and where it got our country. I was born in Canada and moved to the USA in the fifth grade. I am proud to be an American, though proud of my Canadian heritage, consider myself an American first and foremost.
I dug into this book and found items about Mr. Henry's life which I did not know and made me appreciate him more. But I have to say, that the author went overboard to the extent of almost ridiculous in touting Mr. Henry's virtues. His life did not need this author to hold him up as his courage and integrity did so. What I mean by overboard is almost anything that did not go perfectly with Mr. Henry, such as leadership in the military, was because of shortcomings of everyone else, including George Washington. The unnecessary spin on virtually everything Mr. Henry did almost stops one from reading the book obviously aimed at approximately the 7th grade or younger. One would think everyone else was a complete dolt except Mr. Henry.
It was repetitive enough that it was somewhat drudgery reading it to completion which I did. A book published about Mr. Henry's accomplishments, courage, and leadership which helped shape this fine country would be better than an apologetic.
Any information on any books relating to our founders, Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, and many others would be much appreciated. I am not interested in a liberal rag putting down our founding fathers. Have you ever seen a person with Thomas Jefferson's great mind and accomplishments have literature focused on whether he fathered children out of wedlock, and if he did, this makes his words worthless? Just thing of many poets, heads of state, actors, athletes, and many other examples who have led sleazy lives and done many a repellent act but yet not a word about those character traits. Knowing the whole person is interesting from a factual standpoint, but not to twist an agenda against the founders of this great nation. I am also not interested in books that push the envelope the other way. History is best when the author's approach is to look at a person in the context of their time and faithfully reproduce as much about their lives as they can. We the readers can decide what to think.
I would say this book is for a younger audience but not the best for them either as I feel it was an effort to distort positives when unnnecessary.