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The Boston Massacre
Reissued in new paperback format and design.
404 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 14, 2022
The Boston Massacre is one of the earliest elements of America’s founding mythology. In this solidly reasoned book, author Zobel writes:
“Not the least of the Massacre's attractions as an object of historic contemplation is the speed with which the men of 1770 (on both sides of the Atlantic and both sides of the political fence) recognized the mythological value of what happened in King Street."
In other words, this event and its interpretation became one of the earliest examples of American propaganda. Layer by layer, Zoble peels away myth and propaganda surrounding that infamous event of March fifth, 1770, so that we can view it clearly, apart from partisan spin. What remains is an incident with little resemblance to the legend most of us learned in school.
Zobel carefully and exhaustively explains the events that led up to the violence on King Street, and introduces us to all the principle players who influenced the drama. He details the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the Customs Duties, all of which stirred up anger and resentment in Boston, and he tells of the violence and the threat of violence that was used by Boston's radical elements to try to counter these acts. Most importantly, he explains why the British soldiers were in Boston in the first place; the Massachusetts Colony had no provision for an armed civil police force, and when mob violence threatened the laws and the peace as they did during the protests of the Stamp Act and Custom Duties, the only legal recourse to counter it was a military presence.
The picture of the Boston Massacre that emerges from Zobel's book is not the classic one of ruthless British soldiers callously firing on a peaceably gathered crowd of citizens as the legend has it. Rather, he paints a picture of frightened and confused troops, backed into a corner by an angry mob that already had a reputation for perpetuating violence, and firing in confusion rather than on order. The fact that the story came down to us in the form of the legend of righteous citizens attacked by evil soldiers owes much to the propaganda abilities of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, and little to facts as they happened.
Just as carefully as he explained the events leading up to the massacre, Zobel details its aftermath, most notably the trial of the soldiers who fired on the mob. As an Associate Professor of Law at Boston College Law School, Zobel is well qualified to understand and dissect this chapter of the drama, and he explains it clearly and concisely. He shows why John Adams took on the defense of the British soldiers, and why he won his case. Through detailing the records of the trial, he leaves the popular legend of the massacre in shreds.
The Boston Massacre is an important book for understanding the events that ultimately brought the colonies to revolt. It is well researched, with a good bibliography. Zobel's writing is clear, and he has a knack for holding the reader's interest even through long and detailed passages. If you enjoy investigating the complex history that lies behind the simplified myths, you will enjoy this book.
“Not the least of the Massacre's attractions as an object of historic contemplation is the speed with which the men of 1770 (on both sides of the Atlantic and both sides of the political fence) recognized the mythological value of what happened in King Street."
In other words, this event and its interpretation became one of the earliest examples of American propaganda. Layer by layer, Zoble peels away myth and propaganda surrounding that infamous event of March fifth, 1770, so that we can view it clearly, apart from partisan spin. What remains is an incident with little resemblance to the legend most of us learned in school.
Zobel carefully and exhaustively explains the events that led up to the violence on King Street, and introduces us to all the principle players who influenced the drama. He details the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, and the Customs Duties, all of which stirred up anger and resentment in Boston, and he tells of the violence and the threat of violence that was used by Boston's radical elements to try to counter these acts. Most importantly, he explains why the British soldiers were in Boston in the first place; the Massachusetts Colony had no provision for an armed civil police force, and when mob violence threatened the laws and the peace as they did during the protests of the Stamp Act and Custom Duties, the only legal recourse to counter it was a military presence.
The picture of the Boston Massacre that emerges from Zobel's book is not the classic one of ruthless British soldiers callously firing on a peaceably gathered crowd of citizens as the legend has it. Rather, he paints a picture of frightened and confused troops, backed into a corner by an angry mob that already had a reputation for perpetuating violence, and firing in confusion rather than on order. The fact that the story came down to us in the form of the legend of righteous citizens attacked by evil soldiers owes much to the propaganda abilities of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, and little to facts as they happened.
Just as carefully as he explained the events leading up to the massacre, Zobel details its aftermath, most notably the trial of the soldiers who fired on the mob. As an Associate Professor of Law at Boston College Law School, Zobel is well qualified to understand and dissect this chapter of the drama, and he explains it clearly and concisely. He shows why John Adams took on the defense of the British soldiers, and why he won his case. Through detailing the records of the trial, he leaves the popular legend of the massacre in shreds.
The Boston Massacre is an important book for understanding the events that ultimately brought the colonies to revolt. It is well researched, with a good bibliography. Zobel's writing is clear, and he has a knack for holding the reader's interest even through long and detailed passages. If you enjoy investigating the complex history that lies behind the simplified myths, you will enjoy this book.
March 12, 2023
4.25 rounded down to 4 stars.
If you're the layperson, reading this book is perfect for you, if the following is true:
You want to read a book published in 1970, written by a Harvard grad lawyer who is positively smarter than you in areas you know nothing about, and that book is about the 10 years preceding the Boston Massacre, the event itself, and the legal precedings as a result.
I enjoyed the book because it gave me a black and white, unbiased telling of what happened based on surviving records and painstaking reconstruction.
Even though it sometimes confounded me, it was astonishing how many parallels can be drawn between the 1760s and the 2020s.
If you're the layperson, reading this book is perfect for you, if the following is true:
You want to read a book published in 1970, written by a Harvard grad lawyer who is positively smarter than you in areas you know nothing about, and that book is about the 10 years preceding the Boston Massacre, the event itself, and the legal precedings as a result.
I enjoyed the book because it gave me a black and white, unbiased telling of what happened based on surviving records and painstaking reconstruction.
Even though it sometimes confounded me, it was astonishing how many parallels can be drawn between the 1760s and the 2020s.
March 4, 2025
Listen my children and you shall hear of the…political machinations and organized protests of Paul Revere…and Samuel Adams, Dr. Joseph Warren, John Hancock, John Adams, and many others among Boston’s Sons of Liberty. While not as lyrically poetic as the famed verses by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the events known as the Boston Massacre led directly to Revere’s famed ride 5 years later.
On the cold wintry evening of March 5, 1770, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts lay coated in a blanket of deep snow. A pale quarter moon gleamed its weak light on the frosty crystals. A lone British soldier stood sentry before the Custom House, standing guard over the British customs documents and revenues housed within. A low roar of voices in the far distance steadily increased in volume as a large crowd approached the Custom House. Insults, curses, and shouts issued forth from dozens of throats. The mob swarmed around Private White of His Majesty’s infantry. The commotion quickly spread across town, alerting Captain Thomas Preston that trouble was brewing. The Captain and 8 Grenadiers marched to the relief of Private White, roughly pushing through the crowd with bayoneted muskets. The crowd directed its ire at the newcomers. Eventually the verbal missiles were supplemented with physical ones: snowballs and sheets of ice, then sticks and bricks and stones began to emerge from the darkness. Challenges were issued by the mob: “Fire, damn you lobster backs! You durst not fire! Cowards!” A shot rang out, then another. Several bodies lay sprawled in the now scarlet stained snow. Bedlam.
Hiller Zobel’s account is rarely this dramatic and descriptive. Zobel is and attorney and judge, and he writes in a highly technical legal manner. This book was also written more than half a century ago, and its style is reflective of that. Despite the lack of literary flair doesn’t diminish the importance of the events described within. In 1770, Boston had been the hotbed of colonial protest against heavy handed British governmental policies for 5 years. It was a spiral of angst and anger that finally exploded into bloody violence. Zobel does admirable work in describing the events of the Stamp and Townsend Act protests and riots that led to British regiments being stationed in Boston. The mix of political turmoil and military policing boiled over on the night in question.
Much of the book is dedicated to the events preceding the Boston Massacre and the resulting prosecution of the soldiers that killed five men during the conflict. Crispus Attucks is the most renowned victim of the Boston Massacre. He has been preserved to posterity as a black man, often regarded as the original martyr of the American cause of independence. Yet, his legacy is less clear than that. Zobel relates the lack of clarity on Attucks’ ethnicity. It doesn’t seem particularly clear whether he was African or Native American. He was also not the first victim of the escalating conflict. Mere weeks before, a young boy named Seider had been killed accidentally by the violent encounters between Boston’s Sons of Liberty and the occupation forces of British soldiers.
Zobel’s writing style is quite frankly dry. His prose is stilted and legalistic. This is not an easy work to read. Yet, the story itself is absolutely fascinating. The Stamp Act protests, the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party were seminal events that led directly to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Understanding these events is crucial to understanding the American Revolution. In that regard, this book is excellent. Just prepare yourself for some less than enjoyable reading to obtain the information.
On the cold wintry evening of March 5, 1770, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts lay coated in a blanket of deep snow. A pale quarter moon gleamed its weak light on the frosty crystals. A lone British soldier stood sentry before the Custom House, standing guard over the British customs documents and revenues housed within. A low roar of voices in the far distance steadily increased in volume as a large crowd approached the Custom House. Insults, curses, and shouts issued forth from dozens of throats. The mob swarmed around Private White of His Majesty’s infantry. The commotion quickly spread across town, alerting Captain Thomas Preston that trouble was brewing. The Captain and 8 Grenadiers marched to the relief of Private White, roughly pushing through the crowd with bayoneted muskets. The crowd directed its ire at the newcomers. Eventually the verbal missiles were supplemented with physical ones: snowballs and sheets of ice, then sticks and bricks and stones began to emerge from the darkness. Challenges were issued by the mob: “Fire, damn you lobster backs! You durst not fire! Cowards!” A shot rang out, then another. Several bodies lay sprawled in the now scarlet stained snow. Bedlam.
Hiller Zobel’s account is rarely this dramatic and descriptive. Zobel is and attorney and judge, and he writes in a highly technical legal manner. This book was also written more than half a century ago, and its style is reflective of that. Despite the lack of literary flair doesn’t diminish the importance of the events described within. In 1770, Boston had been the hotbed of colonial protest against heavy handed British governmental policies for 5 years. It was a spiral of angst and anger that finally exploded into bloody violence. Zobel does admirable work in describing the events of the Stamp and Townsend Act protests and riots that led to British regiments being stationed in Boston. The mix of political turmoil and military policing boiled over on the night in question.
Much of the book is dedicated to the events preceding the Boston Massacre and the resulting prosecution of the soldiers that killed five men during the conflict. Crispus Attucks is the most renowned victim of the Boston Massacre. He has been preserved to posterity as a black man, often regarded as the original martyr of the American cause of independence. Yet, his legacy is less clear than that. Zobel relates the lack of clarity on Attucks’ ethnicity. It doesn’t seem particularly clear whether he was African or Native American. He was also not the first victim of the escalating conflict. Mere weeks before, a young boy named Seider had been killed accidentally by the violent encounters between Boston’s Sons of Liberty and the occupation forces of British soldiers.
Zobel’s writing style is quite frankly dry. His prose is stilted and legalistic. This is not an easy work to read. Yet, the story itself is absolutely fascinating. The Stamp Act protests, the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party were seminal events that led directly to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Understanding these events is crucial to understanding the American Revolution. In that regard, this book is excellent. Just prepare yourself for some less than enjoyable reading to obtain the information.
March 13, 2024
Great book for anyone wishing to take a deep dive into the Boston Massacre and events contributing to it. This is not some short, American history book, overview of the event. We're nearly two-thirds of the way into it before we even reached the day of the actual shootings.
Zobel does a great job detailing the history leading up to the massacre and, in turn, the historical factors leading to the War for Independence. At the same time, his writing style and dry wit make this more than a recitation of events and easy to read for anyone truly interested in our country's history.
Zobel does a great job detailing the history leading up to the massacre and, in turn, the historical factors leading to the War for Independence. At the same time, his writing style and dry wit make this more than a recitation of events and easy to read for anyone truly interested in our country's history.
December 18, 2019
A concise, readable account of a well-known but little understood event. It remains unclear who was actually at fault in the start of this incident which began with snowballs and ended in five dead. I got hooked and am now reading the definitive account of what happened that night in March 1770, also titled, The Boston Massacre by Hiller Zobel.
August 25, 2021
More than a narrative of the unleashing of sedition in pre-revolution Boston that would lead to the famed titled event, Zobel's book is an examination of this story with the insights of a law professor. I found this to make for refreshing and insightful reading on the subject.
August 30, 2023
Written in a narrative form - quick paced and exciting
May 23, 2024
Information overload
January 21, 2014
Great look at the Boston Massacre. Zobel's legal experience really shows as he dissects the various trials afterwards and the legal arguments made by the players (including John Adams). This book is a little on the dense side (I'm reading it for research on a play that I'm writing), but he's got a great wit and really paints a picture of the tumultuous times leading up to the American Revolution. If you want a little extra depth in your knowledge of the start of the American experiment, this is a great book to read.
August 29, 2016
This excellent book gives a detailed account of the Boston Massacre, before and after, especially the trial, more wide ranging than any book I have found on the subject. Better still, it is written in such a way that after reading it, I feel I have a complete grasp on what happened throughout and what the soldiers and townspeople were living with. Best of all, it is well written and easy to follow and to comprehend. For anyone who wants to know what happened during the night of the Massacre, what led up to it, and what happened subsequently, this is the book for you.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews