Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation

This award-winning author's portrait of America's first Founding Father is [a] vivid biography of the Virginia firebrand ( Wall Street Journal ).

Remembered largely for his cry for liberty or death, Patrick Henry was actually the first (and most colorful) of America's Founding Fathers, who roused his countrymen to fight government tyranny—both British and American. He was the first to call Americans to arms against Britain, first to demand a bill of rights, and first to fight the growth of big government after the Revolution.

As quick with a rifle as he was with his tongue, Henry was America's greatest orator and courtroom lawyer, who mixed histrionics and hilarity to provoke tears or laughter from judges and jurors alike. Henry's passion for liberty (as well as his very large family), suggested to many Americans that he, not Washington, was the real father of his country.

This biography is history at its best, telling a story both human and philosophical. As historian Harlow Giles Unger points out, Henry's words continue to echo across America and inspire millions to fight government intrusion in their daily lives.

If you want to know what the Founders meant while deliberating the creation of the Confederation and the Constitution, and if you wish to understand why they made the decisions they did, read Lion of Liberty . — New York Journal of Books

Fantastically engaging . . . the perfect introduction to the founder whose rhetoric started a revolution. —NPR.org