Lion of Liberty. By Harlow Unger.

 I found this biography enlightening because all I knew of Patrick Henry was his give me liberty or give me death pronouncement.  The full story of Henry is fascinating and illuminating.  In fact we might consider that he was the person who originated both the revolution and the civil war.

He was an amazing orator and this is proven throughout the text without regarding his most famous pre-revolution speech.  He was perhaps the most prominent lawyer in VA despite the fact that he was self-taught.  It was his ability to orate, his use of theatrics that won the day in his trials and in the House of Burgesses.

He actually never fought in the war, but he is still considered one of the primary patriots – second only to Washington in the minds of the south.  But when the war was over and the government was formed he was also its biggest critic and even predicted a civil war based on states’ rights versus federal government. 

He spoke against slavery, but kept slaves throughout his life.  He believed in rebellion – like Che Quevara although his admirers would hate the comparison. 

Check out this NPR review:  http://www.eecom.org/