The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

By: Stacy Schiff

Narrated by: Jason Culp

This revelatory biography from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author explores the story of the most essential Founding Father—the one who stood behind the change that sparked the American Revolution.

“A glorious book that is as entertaining as it is vitally important.” —Ron Chernow, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Alexander Hamilton

Thomas Jefferson asserted that if there was any leader of the Revolution, “Samuel Adams was the man.” With high-minded ideals and bare-knuckle tactics, Adams led what could be called the greatest campaign of civil resistance in American history.

Stacy Schiff returns Adams to his seat of glory, introducing us to the shrewd and eloquent man who supplied the moral backbone of the American Revolution. A singular figure at a singular moment, Adams amplified the Boston Massacre. He helped to mastermind the Boston Tea Party. He employed every tool available to rally a town, a colony, and eventually a band of colonies behind him, creating the cause that created a country.

For his efforts he became the most wanted man in America—when Paul Revere rode to Lexington in 1775, it was to warn Samuel Adams that he was about to be arrested for treason. In The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, Schiff brings her masterful skills to Adams’ improbable life, illuminating his transformation from aimless son of a well-off family to tireless, beguiling radical who mobilized the colonies.

Arresting, original, and deliriously dramatic, this is a long-overdue chapter in the history of our nation.

“A beautifully crafted, invaluable biography ... Schiff ingeniously connects the past to our present and future, underscoring the lessons of Adams while reclaiming our nation’s self-evident truths at a moment when we seemed to have forgotten them.” —Oprah Daily

One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2022
One of The Wall Street Journal’s “10 BEST BOOKS OF 2022”
One of The Los Angeles Times’ “Top 5 Nonfiction Books of 2022”
One of The New York Times’ “Most Notable Books of 2022”

And named one of the “Best Books of 2022” by The New Yorker, TIME, Oprah Daily, USA Today, New York Magazine, Air Mail, Boston Globe, and more!

Honorable

Great history lesson on the sacrifices of our forefathers and what America MUST stand for.

Fascinating character

I wasn’t aware of the leading role Samuel Adams had in articulating a principled stand against Great Britain, and how his propaganda / correspondences eventually pulled the the colonies together to launch the Continental Congress. His personal story was also intriguing — suffice to say he found his purpose leading Boston and Massachusetts in opposition to the Stamp, Townsend Acts, et al. Lots of wonderful color on the slow burn of revolution.

A great American

Well - written story of a guy who should be much better remembered. Good stuff - I want to read the print book to see how Schiff figured out all the pseudonyms.

A much needed book

This book goes a long way toward filling a gap Revolutionary Era history. I wish it hadn't skipped over his later life.

History needs some editing

After reading “Revolutionary,” any student raised in the public schools of America should decry that history books need a LOT of editing. Sam Adams is front and foremost to our history and to our independence from England. He didn’t want recognition, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t owed him. Thank you, Mrs. Schiff for the painstaking effort it took you for almost a decade to research and write this book. (There should be more than a beer named after Sam Adams ;)