By: Debby Applegate
Henry Ward Beecher (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe) was a world renowned minister who was raised in New England but spent the majority of his career as the dearly loved and charismatic pastor of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, NY in the mid-19th Century. (The church still exists in Brooklyn Heights and is on the National Register of Historic Places.) Beecher was a great influence in the abolitionist movement and crossed paths with notables of the time including Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln. He was later brought down by a messy and fascinating adultery scandal that was closely followed in the media by the entire country (sound familiar?). The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and is honestly one of the best biographies ever. It is over 400 pages but don't be put off - it is so well written and interesting that you can't put it down. (Non-fiction) 07/29/09
