Stirring up a little trouble (or a lot ) has a long and illustrious history in the state of Massachusetts. From the famous figures to the obscure, from the patriot Sam Adams to bearded Joe Palmer, the twenty men and women profiled in this collection of historical biographies all dared to advocate for some form of freedom, some measure of liberty. Revolutionary War patriot and printer Isaiah Thomas proved that indeed the pen is mightier than the sword. In the same conflict, Deborah Samson so believed in America that she masqueraded as a man to join the struggle against the British. In 1845, Margaret Fuller published a book that later seen as an early blueprint for the women's rights movement. In Massachusetts Troublemakers, Paul Della Valle brings these characters to life with colorful tales of rabble-rousing and pot-stirring, a little bit of dancing and drinking, and even a bicycle race, all complemented by twenty black-and-white archival photos.