The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams was called, “the most elegant writer, the most sagacious politician, and celebrated patriot” by John Adams, his second cousin, and was applauded by other colleagues such as Thomas Jefferson. A mastermind behind the Boston Tea Party who helped mobilize the colonies to revolution, he is nonetheless an often overlooked figure amongst the Founding Fathers. Historian Stacy Schiff examines his transformation from the listless, failing son of a wealthy family into the tireless, silver-tongued revolutionary who rallied the likes of John Hancock and John Adams behind him.

Stacy Schiff is a celebrated author of biographical scholarship, garnering such awards as the Pulitzer Prize and George Washington Book Prize for her work. Her new book is The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams. David M. Rubenstein (moderator), co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group, is the author of How to Invest: Masters on the Craft and the host of History with David Rubenstein on PBS.