“Before George Washington, before Thomas Jefferson, even before Alexander Hamilton, there was Joseph Warren. A British commander once called him ‘the greatest incendiary in all America’. Warren stood at the center of the colonial intrigue against the British in Boston.... In Founding Martyr, Christian Di Spigna has produced a gripping biography of one of the American Revolution’s earliest activists. This is no whitewashed version of the Founding.... Founding Martyr helps restore to their proper place Joseph Warren’s important contributions to our nation’s prehistory.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“Di Spigna argues that, although Joseph Warren (1741-1775) remains largely unknown, he was ‘one of the most important figures in the movement for independence,’ a characterization amply supported by the evidence presented in this revealing and insightful biography... Di Spigna incorporates diligent research, enhanced by analysis of primary sources only he has tracked down (such as medical records Warren maintained for his practice), into a gripping narrative that doesn’t shy away from the darkness in his subject, including Warren’s family’s ownership of slaves. This book will give readers a fuller picture of American leadership before the active engagement of those now called the founding fathers.” (Publishers Weekly, starred)

“A fresh biography of an underappreciated figure in American history... [Di Spigna] reminds readers that Warren was more than a man who sacrificed his life for the cause of liberty… [he] persuasively argues that Warren was ‘a rare combination of statesman and warrior’ and that ‘his effective arsenal of voice, pen, and sword was unrivaled by any other patriot’… Hopefully, Di Spigna’s insightful biography will rekindle public interest in Warren, a man who deserves to be remembered.” (Kirkus Reviews)