Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to Action by Harlow Giles Unger

I loved learning more about the man behind the words "Give me liberty or give me death!" and my favorite, "If this be treason, make the most of it." That is a philosophy that I can run with.
Patrick Henry discovered a gift for oration as inspiration after a time. He had two failed careers before he chose law, and in his first several cases, which he tried before his father, the judge (not to be too much of a psychiatrist, but I think there is something to that), he was tongue-tied rather than brilliant. But once he got his stride, he became a phenomenon, a joy to watch and listen to. His passion for independence from Britain was catching, which made him an invaluable ally to the ride up to independence.
He was a complicated man personally. He had 6 children by his first wife, who died after what sounds like a major depressive disorder with psychotic features that did not remit, and she basically wasted away. He married not long afterwards--to the woman one of his son's loved--oops--and had 11 more children. He is presented as an attentive father who spent as much time as he could with his children--he had a lot of them on purpose, he enjoyed them. He was a successful land owner and farmer as well as having political office, and neither money nor resources were an issue for him.
He was governor of Virginia during the Revolutionary War and he followed the supplies that he sent to Washington's troops, rooting out graft along the way and ending several men's careers (appropriately)--he was a man of detail and 'do the right thing'. He parted ways with the majority of revolutionary leaders when the Constitutional Convention failed to produce a document that protected state's rights and individual's rights to the degree he thought absolutely essential. But instead of taking up the banner of opposition, he admitted his defeat and went quietly--and apparently happily--back to his private life. The author of this book does a good job of keeping a balanced view of the life and successes of this interesting revolutionary figure.