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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Although this book is well-researched, I can’t say it’s as well-written as reviewers credit it to be. It seemed cold and distant at parts and somehow made the years leading up to the American Revolution seem quite dreary at times.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
I read this book for Sharon McMahon’s book club. I found the author’s style of writing very hard to follow which made the book difficult to understand, in my case.
I had SUCH a difficult time getting into this one. I know it’s filled with amazing I formation but I just struggled to continue on!
informative
slow-paced
I'm not sure if it is the writing style, the abundance of details, the scholarly credentials of the author, or ME....but I couldn't get through this.
I don't know how you can make such an exciting, influential person and such a crucial time in our country's history so boring, but the author succeeded!
I read an article about Samuel Adams and Stacy Schiff in The Atlantic and it was so interesting. But the actual book was not.
I don't know how you can make such an exciting, influential person and such a crucial time in our country's history so boring, but the author succeeded!
I read an article about Samuel Adams and Stacy Schiff in The Atlantic and it was so interesting. But the actual book was not.
Hard to get into. I managed to find a rhythm for reading the book once I got about 150 pages in but it was a slog until then. I wondered if I had lost my touch for comprehension and just don’t get high brow prose anymore but I am heartened by other reviewers who felt the same way. So maybe it’s not me. Maybe it really is the writing/editing. Overall, I’m glad I read it though, if for nothing else but the victory of overcoming difficulty.
While I certainly appreciated the depth of research, I feel the presentation was lacking. The authors writing was too stylized to match the era and so not very accessible. And I was a bit taken aback to read in the acknowledgments that the research was based on the unpublished work of Catherine S. Menand. That information should have been shared upfront.
I listened to this book for #governerd book club with @sharonsaysso
I’m not sure I can say I enjoyed this book. I love history, and I certainly learned a lot about the history of the American Revolution, but it was a little too in depth for me. That being said, the book was very well written and read more like a story than a history book. There were definitely some interesting parts, and I think it was important for someone to document how big of an impact Samuel Adams had on the founding of America even though history seems to have largely overlooked his contributions. The audio narrator wasn’t my favorite, but I’m glad I chose this format so I could get through the book at 2x speed. Overall, only check this out if you’re really into history, specifically of the time period of the American Revolution.
I’m not sure I can say I enjoyed this book. I love history, and I certainly learned a lot about the history of the American Revolution, but it was a little too in depth for me. That being said, the book was very well written and read more like a story than a history book. There were definitely some interesting parts, and I think it was important for someone to document how big of an impact Samuel Adams had on the founding of America even though history seems to have largely overlooked his contributions. The audio narrator wasn’t my favorite, but I’m glad I chose this format so I could get through the book at 2x speed. Overall, only check this out if you’re really into history, specifically of the time period of the American Revolution.
Samuel Adams was an interesting person, and I learned a great deal that they don't teach you in US History. But the writing style didn't work for me, and this was harder to get through than it should have been.