Peter Corrigan's Reviews > The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher

This was a complete surprise. I knew virtually nothing, no actually literally nothing about Henry Ward Beecher. I only learned from the book jacket that he was brother to Harriet Beecher Stowe. So it was fun to read about something about which I had almost no preconceived ideas. This is a highly readable account , very well written and researched and fascinating to a degree I hardly expected. I have been a Civil War 'buff' forever but it was always about the the Generals and the battles. But the history (especially the pre-war) and politics surrounding the abolition movement and influence were superb and informative. There are many excellent reviews on here so I will not go into much detail. But there were so many things about Beecher that caught my attention even from a personal viewpoint. He was born in Connecticut where I was raised and went to Amherst College, where my dad went. The early history of Amherst and the contrast with the lefty-loony bin it has become was really interesting for me. His life story is very well told and she provides a wonderful snapshot of an incredibly turbulent period in American history. He was a preacher who 'evolved' from a strict Calvinist upbringing into a some type of 'man for all seasons' or perhaps all ladies. If I had a mild criticism it almost seems that the author got too close to this guy. I am sure many biographers are susceptible to this. But she seems determined to see him in best possible light when it becomes apparent that at the end of the day he was an absolutely massive hypocrite who stood around for decades (literally) preaching but not following his own words. He doesn't come off as a guy you hate (in fact he might have been a good guy to have a beer with when he wasn't thundering about the evils of drink). But when it came to the insanely big 'trials' he was more than content to lie endlessly and destroy a woman he probably professed to love (if nothing else to get past all those petticoats, although the author has a funny take on that!). This could get 4.5 stars and I would highly recommend it!