Patrick Henry

May 29, 2017
In this lively biography, Kukla (Mr. Jefferson’s Women), former director of Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial, recovers Patrick Henry’s foundational role in shaping the American independence movement and, ultimately, the young republic itself. Henry is best known today as an impassioned orator, but Kukla looks beyond the speeches to develop a fuller portrait of Henry as an attorney, statesman, landowner, and society man, highlighting his contributions to key debates around such issues as the Stamp Act and westward expansion. In the book’s descriptions of Henry—including those of his early eloquence in the courtroom, his work on the Declaration of Rights, and his later service as the governor of Virginia—he emerges as a passionate and civic-minded thinker who remained attuned to the needs and concerns of everyday people throughout his career. Drawing on commentary from such contemporaries as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, Kukla depicts Henry against the backdrop of 18th-century American life, addressing Henry’s views on slavery, emergent Southern identity, and international trade as well as his resistance toward British rule. Kukla’s fluid prose and careful attention to detail ensure that this biography will appeal to both general readers interested in the founding fathers and scholars interested in learning more about the development of the early republic. Agent: Stephen Hanselman, LevelFiveMedia.

May 1, 2017
A new biography of the American statesman who Thomas Jefferson said "was our leader in the measures of the Revolution in Virginia."Most Americans know little about Patrick Henry (1736-1799) aside from his proclamation during a speech: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" He deserves better, and historian Kukla (Mr. Jefferson's Women, 2007, etc.) has written a compelling biography that serves his subject well. The son of a Virginia planter who became a lawyer, Henry proved a pugnacious advocate and superb speaker at a time when oratory was valued far more than it is today. Elected to the Virginia legislature in 1765, he arrived as it received the final text of the notorious Stamp Act. Almost immediately, Henry proposed resolutions asserting that Colonial legislatures, not Parliament, had exclusive right to tax the Colonies. These were more inflammatory than similar responses in other Colonies and widely admired, and the author considers them a major catalyst of the Revolution. Henry continued to attack Britain and served in the Continental Congress until 1776, when he became Virginia's first post-Revolution governor, serving six one-year terms. He worked hard for the Revolution, but like most Americans (although not most of the elite) after 1783, he felt no need for a strong central government. Henry was not an intellectual like Adams, Jefferson, and Madison or a respected general like Washington. He was an agitator, similar to Samuel Adams. He played a central role in stirring up rebellion, a lesser role once the revolution began, and he did not help his reputation by leading Virginia's opposition to ratifying the Constitution. A skilled historian, Kukla has done his homework and written a detailed, lively, probably definitive biography of a revolutionary figure who merits more recognition but perhaps not promotion beyond the second tier of Founding Fathers.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 15, 2017

Historian Kukla (A Wilderness So Immense) provides a thorough study of Virginian Patrick Henry (1736-99), illustrating his life beyond his famous adage, "Give me liberty or give me death." Henry is presented as ahead of his time on the concept of American independence. Years before the Revolution, the young lawyer sided with locals against the demands of the Anglican clergy, joined Virginia's own assemblies against Royal decrees, led activities against the Stamp Act, and penned radical essays thwarting King George III. Because Henry's activities were so broad, ranging from early protests to the Continental Congress and beyond, his life also serves as a biography of Revolution-era Virginia. Especially interesting are the many antislavery voices present in the state's early history, including Quaker and Methodist circuit riders. Readers gain a sense of the energy behind the revolution, the powerful influence of John Locke's philosophy regarding democratic governance, and the complicated nature of the ratification of the Constitution. VERDICT Kukla gives historians, philosophers, and readers of serious nonfiction an informational and enlightening biography of the great agitator for democracy.--Jeffrey Meyer, Mt. Pleasant P.L., IA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.