Book Review - Dr. Joseph Warren

Dr. Joseph Warren: The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty

By: Samuel A. Forman
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company
Publishing Date: November 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4556-1474-5
Reviewed by: Mary Lignor
Review Date: May 5, 2012

In the beginning (and this is not the Bible), a doctor who was living in Boston was starting to play a very important role in the things that happened leading up to the American Revolution. This is a biography of that man, Dr. Joseph Warren. Warren, who, among other things, sent Paul Revere on his famous ride through the countryside, was present at the Boston Tea Party and was a hero in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Readers will be delighted with this book and its star. Certainly everyone who has read and studied the American Revolution knows all about the main founding fathers but few know the important role that Dr. Warren took on. Dr. Warren had an extremely rare medical practice as he collected important military intelligence before the War taken from spies acting as patients in his practice. Dr. Warren directed the first American Minutemen and was the first highly-ranked American Officer killed during the Revolution.

It’s been many years since a biography has been written of Dr. Warren and, according to the author’s research, only two have been written on Dr. Warren’s life. This author has not forgotten to include many of Dr. Warren’s accomplishments as well as his military service. According to research by Mr. Forman, Dr. Warren was a doctor, teacher, freemason, soldier, family man and politician. The book is written like fiction in many places so the reader will feel as if they know the man, his family and even something of his childhood. We see the human interest side to Dr. Warren, and not just his accomplishments in the War.

This book is well worth reading. For readers, like yours truly, who thought they knew a lot about the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers, it gives a thorough portrait of Dr. Joseph Warren and the part that he played in the history of our liberty. It will be to the reader's advantage to read the appendices (5 in all) covering the Doctor’s account books, Artifacts and Relics Associated with Joseph Warren, the Quest for Warren’s Head, (this sounds really weird but did happen), Places Named after Joseph Warren and Attributions to Miss Mercy Scollay. These appendices read just like fiction and are truly a great addition to this book.

Quill Says: This is a story about an extremely overlooked founder who really played a huge part in the country’s fight for freedom from the English. Many historians will be anxious to read the story of Dr. Warren. This is a definite keeper in the biography/historian’s and perhaps, even the fiction reader’s library.