Massachusetts Troublemakers: Rebels, Reformers, and Radicals from the Bay State by Paul Della Valle

Book Review by Jacquelyn McEwen

Throughout the history Massachusetts state has yielded many individuals who have, time and again, significantly impacted the United States. Paul Della Valle, a Massachusetts native and accomplished journalist, is passionate and prideful of his home state and the many “troublemakers” who have come from there. Della Valle’s obsession with finding and researching these historical persons is the origins of his book, Massachusetts Troublemakers: Rebels, Reforms and Radicals from the Bay State. The book was published by The Globe Pequot Press in 2009. This particular publisher, credible but not scholarly, publishes a wide variety of books from outdoor living to cookbooks. This book, a compilation of twenty short biographies, is written more for leisure than scholastic. Della Valle has researched each of his subjects extensively and put together an entertaining historical read.

I chose to read this book because the title captivated me, and while skimming through I found many of the biographies interesting. The quality that especially grabbed my attention was the fact that all the persons in the book stood up for what they believed and wanted something more than to just live a normal life.

In the introduction of the book Della Valle gives a brief personal story about how he first became captivated with these against the grain characters. He also tells a very short personal story about how one subject, Mayor James Michael Curley, directly impacted the life of Della Valle’s grandmother. Della Valle gave some background information on the state of Massachusetts, the Puritans, and the Pilgrims. He also used the introduction to thank those in whom made his book possible. It is in the introduction that one can see that Della Valle is an experienced and captivating writer, but also shows a slight bias both towards Massachusetts and the “troublemakers.”

The rest of the book contained twenty short biographies of men and women, white and black, that stood up for what they believed and started a trend to reform. Della Valle constructed each biography in the same format. He started with their major accomplishment (in some cases what they became famous for), then moved into their childhood and upbringing (if the information was available), and then finally how they either executed and accomplished their life’s work or how they started a trend to reform (sometimes both). He stayed very true to this format throughout the entire book which made it very easy to read- even though this order is not chronological.

While he gave each of his subjects proper amounts of research and information to support the main point of his book, it seemed as though some subjects intrigued Della Valle more and received even more attention and a more informative biography. Some of the subjects that I felt especially obtained Della Valle’s writing include: Thomas Morton, Joseph Palmer, Horace Mann, Dorothea Lynde Dix, and Lucy Stone. On the contrary it also seemed like some subjects did not captivate his interest as much, but were still major reformers of their time. These subjects include: Margaret Fuller, Helen Hunt Jackson, and Robert Gould Shaw.

Throughout the entire book Della Valle expressed his extreme dislike for many of the individuals who would have been seen as the “oppressors” of the multiple time periods. For the majority of the book the oppressors were the Pilgrims, Puritans, and church leaders within these groups. Later in the book white southerners and white men were added to this list. All of these groups had their own ideals of what change should be occurring, and that change did not include that which was brought upon by these reformers.

Della Valle definitely achieved his over all goal in writing this book. I feel he successfully portrayed many “rebels, reformers, and radicals” from Massachusetts. He found freedom fighters, abolitionists, women’s right activists, education reforms, and many others. Della Valle found men and women from all different historical backgrounds and dates, and was able to compile their attributions to society in his book. All the subjects fully encompassed the criteria he laid out in the introduction of his book.

Della Valle’s experienced journalist background definitely came through in his writing style. He used clear language and it was easy to follow and enjoyable. He was witty and humorous. The book was an easy and enjoyable read. Although it encompassed all these things it had it’s short comings. Most of his witty comments came at the expense of characters in the book he was not found of and he portrayed bias writing. He usually did this when referring to the Puritans, Pilgrims, and church authorities. His writing style also linked the book to more of a leisure read than a scholarly one.

Even though his writing is unorthodox in typical historical writing, I feel that this should still be considered a book with great historical value. It is a fabulous introduction to many major influential persons in history. He gives just enough information (who the person was, their background, and their major accomplishments) to entice the reader to do further research on their own. Also his writing style is easy to follow and would not scare potential readers with elaborate language and confusing terms.

I would recommend this book to a reader that has a general interest in reformers of America and is looking for an enjoyable read. I also see this book having great potential as an introduction book to reformers in a classroom setting. Since it is easy enough to read students would be able to get through the book quickly and get a good idea of the diverse range and varieties of reformers.

Over all I enjoyed this book. I feel Della Valle accomplished what he set out to do in this book. Regardless of his writing style I would still consider it an enlightening book of history. I also feel that, despite Della Valle’s occasion bias, the book obtained enough credible sources to prove Della Valle’s thoroughness in knowing his material.