"A compelling, intimate portrait of John Hancock, going beyond the flamboyant signature to provide insight into the pivotal role that he had in the American Revolution"-- Provided by publisher

"The known world" -- "No pleasure without pain" -- "Make a stir for us" -- "We are a gone people" -- "The idol of the mob" -- "A singular dignity and grace" -- "Remove immediately from Boston" -- "A shadow as pale as ashes" -- "Why all this haste?" -- "Constant application to public business" -- "Too precious a keepsake" -- "The Frenchmen ate voraciously" -- "I have lost many thousands" -- "A delicate business" -- "Perhaps restore our virtue" -- "A storm in the atmosphere" -- "Radically generous and benevolent" -- "I feel the seeds of mortality."