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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very admirable and informative short biography on Patrick Henry,
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This review is from: Patrick Henry;: A biography (Hardcover)
I'm glad I found Beeman's book on Patrick Henry. After reading the book, I can say that I have a much clearer picture of who Patrick Henry was besides the man who uttered "Give me liberty of give me death!". However, after getting to know him, I must say that I don't like the character. On the other hand, Beeman let's the reader know that Henry's place in history is written primarily based on what his detractors said about him (Jefferson and Madison among them) since Henry left scent little documentation.
You consistently hear that he was the most skilled "orator" in the colonies, captivating both friends and enemies alike, yet we are left to believe that he was an idiot when it came to details. This is where I suspect we may not have the entire picture of Henry, but Beeman tells us this. Henry was in the top ranks of Virginia politics for too long and caused too many other politicians too many sleepless nights to not understand or be ignorant. More importantly, though, by reading Beeman's book on Henry, you get an overall idea of what colonial Virginia and colonial Virginian politics was like. Beeman is also extremely evenhanded in dealing with Henry, revealing that some of his politics may have been motivated by self-interest, though it is hard to get much further under his skin. I thought it was a great little book. It doesn't probe to the level of detail that a thicker, more academic book would, but the 200 fast-turning pages very adequately captures who he was and what he stood for and what his place in history was. He stood for the Virginia political point of view, and did it well. I particularly appreciated reading about Henry's role in getting Virginia to oppose the British in the leadup to the War of Independence and also reading about Henry's role in defending Virginia's interests when it came to the process of ratifying a new Constitution. He vehemently opposed it at the Virginia convention, and caused a lot of headaches. In looking for a book on Henry, an Amazon reviewer for another Henry book mentioned this one as a better book to read. I'm glad I found it. I also now understand the milieu much better that produced so many others that would lead our nation.
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