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

This biography tells the story of a man eminently famous in his day, but relatively obscure in our time. This is a finely researched and well-written book that pulls the reader through the life of this complex man without descending into the dull recounting of years that often characterize historical biographies. The author, Debby Applegate, respects her character, but doesn’t caulk over his faults with thin defenses or convoluted explanations of his sometimes puzzling and unconscionable behavior.

Regarding the character of Henry Ward Beecher himself, I found him strangely unattractive, despite innumerable mentions of his popularity and the effect his personality had on others. It’s not that he possessed faults – faults common to any man (whether clergy or not) – but his refusal to acknowledge and own up to his questionable behavior and his often circuitous and contradictory reasoning was maddening. I found his personality unaccountably distasteful…much as I still find those who rely on their fame, popularity, or notoriety to circumvent social, political, and judicial rules that apply to the rest of us.

For those who enjoy historical biographies, this is one of the best I’ve read.