I got this book while I was in Virginia, and there is a great bit in it about Paine the rebel turned too rebellious that I plan on putting in a lesson on the Revolution later this year. But the rest of the tale, some of it a bit too off-topic and frankly racy for 8th graders, is just extraordinary in its absurdity and irony and plain old coincidence. I won't spoil any more specifics, but reading about chasing Paine's earthly remains was like reading a "who's who" of random 19th century radicals. Who knew my interest in phrenology could be piqued?
Recommend for students? Not really at this level, but selections would be great studies in contrast to the dry textbooks they are used to. This book is very easy to read and would certainly get them thinking outside the proverbial box.
Useful for teaching: absolutely. These are the kinds of tales history teachers should be reading to stretch their own knowledge and views on the Founders, lest they become too perfectly inhuman or to inhumanely imperfect in our all too revisionist-happy world.
