GREATNESS TO SPARE: The Heroic Sacrifices of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence

Most of the forty-two signatories of the Declaration of Independence disappeared from the historical scene once they had affixed their names to the document which conferred a sort of immortality upon them all. It is Mr. Fehrenbach's intention to trace their later destinies. The signers had pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their honor to their country. During the seven-year struggle with England most of them were required to redeem that pledge their lives were in constant danger, their homes were destroyed, their fortunes were lost; they were insulted, persecuted, imprisoned, and separated from their families. The author has done considerable research. The ultimate value of the book, however, lies not in the events and personalities depicted (for many of the men are, in the perspective of history, of only ephemeral importance), but in the overall picture which emerges of the social, economic, political, intellectual, and military life of the original Thirteen during the revolutionary period. The book's format--forty-two miniature biographies rather than a single flowing narrative will limit its appeal except as reference.