Harlow Giles Unger presents Hancock in such a way that the legend behind his signing the Declaration of Independence takes a back seat to the multiple reasons he should be considered a Founder of the United States. From merchant, to revolutionary, to President, and to Governor – John Hancock played a key role in every aspect of the Revolution and the Founding.
The author does a fantastic job of drawing the listener/reader in and writes in such a way that places you in the events being written about. The greatest critique I have is the authors portrayal of the Adams family – particularly Samuel Adams, as essentially villains of the story. Unger may in fact have a spot on portrayal of Samuel Adams, but it begins to come off as personal hostility towards him, even more so since the Epilogue of the book focuses in on Adams instead of Hancock one last time.
Overall, this portrayal of John Hancock is fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about a Founder who deserves to be recognized just as many times in his own right as the other major figures of the beginning years of the United States.