Founding Brothers

Rating:
Summary: Brings to life great personalities
Review: This book examines certain aspects of relationships between several of the founding fathers. Ellis starts off with a bang, giving an in depth look at the famous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton in which Burr sought to retrieve his honor upon the plains of Weehauken, NJ. It is fascinating reading as Ellis seeks to determine if Hamilton fired a shot and, if so, whether he fired first.

Another fascinating chapter is one in which early abolitionists sought to do away with slavery. The matter was raised in Congress by Pennsylvanians who believed slavery should have been immediately abolished. Unfortunately, the institution was protected by the newly ratified Constitution, thus their efforts failed. As the decades passed and the number of slaves grew exponentially, a peaceful resolution of this tragic issue grew more and more impossible.

The final chapter is about the reconciliation between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. After two presidential races aginst each other and fundamental differences as to what the legacy of the Revolution was, they renewed their old friendship. Indeed, at times Jefferson had made accusations against Adams that would have led some men to the dueling field to settle matter with pistols. Fortunately both Adams and Jefferson were above such inane resolutions of questions of honor. Ultimately, despite their many differences, in their old age, they were able to put these differences aside as they sought to explain themselves to each other in a long series of letters. The reconciliation seems to have been egged on by Benjamin Rush who sort of acted as a broker between the two and indicated to each that the other wanted to resume the friendship. Adams and Jefferson realized that they were writing, not just for themselves, but for posterity. As a people, we are all the richer for having their innermost thoughts on their roles in history preserved.

Our founding fathers were far from perfect but I cannot imagine that there was ever a greater collection of historical giants at any other time in history and at any other place. I have recently read McCullough's biography of John Adams and these two books create the portrait of an emotional man who, in the modern idiom, would "tell it like it is." Jefferson emerges as someone much more reserved, sometimes duplicitous, who would hold things is. Thanks to the recent literature on our founding fathers, I feel that they are coming to life and that, in a sense, we are getting an opportunity to know them.

A final observation: there was a founding bothers had a sister. Ellis makes clear that Abigail Adams was her husband's most trusted advisor and also a friend of Jefferson's (both before the falling out and after the recioncilliation). With her keen intellect, she made important contributions.

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Summary: Revolutionary philosophy 101...
Review: An absorbingly new and unique perspective on a period of our history that's been told and re-told many times over. Mr. Ellis presents an impressively comprehensive dissertation on what I like to call "Revolutionary philosophy". Many accounts of the war and the period discuss battles or general overviews of the Continental Congress and it's participants, but nowhere (Bernard Bailyn's "Ideological Origins of the American Revolution" being a notable exception) have we gotten into the real meaning of the Revolution and the major obstacles that the Founders had to overcome to establish the Republic that stands today. Through a well-told (but sometimes, admittedly, too "wordy") series of short stories, we get a firm understanding of what the major issues were in the post Revolutionary period and an insight to the people that made up our Government who's responsibility it was to solve them. And solve them they did, whether it was through quiet manipulation via back channels (James Madison and Thomas Jefferson)or through violence (the Hamilton/Burr duel). For the most part, however, we really see what the Founders were made of and why they are held in the legendary esteem that they are today (Washington, Franklin and Adams). The book accomplishes all this in surprisingly few pages (about 250), but what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. I enjoyed the chapters entitled "The Duel, "Farewell", "Collaborators" and the surprising chapters that closed out the book on the Jefferson/Adams fued, and in every story, we get a refreshing look at the principals and an extensive (as I mentioned before, sometimes too extensive) philosophical discussion on the true meaning of the establishment of our Republic.... with the recent release of David McCullough's "John Adams" you really have new and exciting Revolutionary reading thats easy to understand and hard to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Network of Patriots
Review: Founding Brothers is a well-designed and well-written history of our country's founders. Well-designed because in focuses on key moments of the post-revolution days rather than attempting to cover all aspects of the early years of our democracy. Too many historic journals dilute the information by spreading themselves too thin. Joseph Ellis selects interesting events with long-reaching impacts on the U.S. and then applies tremendous content and balance to them. Several characters, like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, provides links among chapters. It reminds us that a small team created this country. Their personalities continued to cross on many issues, enriching our historic fabric.

The book is well-written in that is strikes a balance. None of the players are perfect heroes or villains. Their strengths and weaknesses somehow blended into a solid foundation for our country. Rarely do you get credible research and a good read in a history book. Ellis delivers with Founding Brothers.

Rating:
Summary: The Other Greatest Generation
Review: Despite the revelation that the author of this Pulitzer Prize winning work lied about his own Vietnam involvement and the ensuing suspension from his teaching duties at Mt. Holyoke College, I enjoyed this book immensely. Easily read, this work reveals the very human jealousies and interactions of the Revolutionary generation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton and Burr. But Ellis also shows the greatness that emegerd from this odd and disparate group of men. The degrees of regard in which these men are held constantly shifts--currently Adams seems to be ascending while Jefferson is descending. And Ellis' insights will add to this ongoing debate.The chapter I most enjoyed dealt with Ben Franklin and his futile stand against slavery. This was brand new information to me. This seems a good time to me, as we enter a protracted struggle against terrorism, to revisit the founding of our nation. These men had no idea how their struggles would end, but they persevered; much as we must now. May we have their courage and their eventual success.

Rating:
Summary: Dull, Dull, Dreadfully Dull
Review: It's like Monty Python once said.
He never uses one succinct sentence when 25 repetitive ones will do. He blah-blahs on so long that we have forgotten what on earth he was talking about by the time he gets to the end of his harangue two pages later. He evens make the Burr-Hamilton duel dull. It's ghastly.

Rating:
Summary: American Beauty
Review: This is a beautiful book-beautiful in its epigrammatic format and its precision. Ellis wastes neither his own efforts nor the histories of the "Brothers" in the telling of America's founding. The book is lean, but the telling is fully developed.

In the book's introduction and its six chapters, Ellis examines the beliefs, ambitions, motivations, and the conceits and politics of the country's founders. He elucidates, without judgement, the opposition of Hamilton to Burr, the friction between Adams and Jefferson, the young nation's near-unanimous views of Washington and Franklin, and the calculated brilliance of the federalist/republican Madison. His portrayals of Jefferson and Adams are succinct yet as accurate as those of their more leisurely written biographies (including those by Ellis).

This book illustrates the differences that divided us in the late eighteenth century and, to this reader, shows us that we have inherited the spirit of those divisions. Ellis permits us to understand just how these divisions unite us to our past and how they continue to inspire the American spirit of tolerance, compromise and optimism.

If one had to recommend just one book on the history and, indeed, the raison d'etre of America's founding, it would have to be this one.

Rating:
Summary: New and additional insight for history geeks
Review: Yes, I freely admit I'm a history geek. I liked it in school, and I like it now.

That said, I still think there's a lot in this book for the average interested reader. We [Americans] get such a bland, expurgated version during school of what really happened in early American politics. It's refreshing -- yet, in a way, kind of disheartening -- to learn that the motivations and maneuvers of most of the founding fathers were every bit as sneaky and self-serving as they are of politicians today. [I'm sure Ellis wouldn't have stated it that way, and perhaps I am a bit cynical, but that's the way I see it.] At least today we don't have rival politicos dueling on riverbanks.

Another surprise to those with only the standard high-school-depth background in American history is how profoundly the question of slavery shaped the country, even before the Constitution had been authored. That's usually assumed to have spontaneously arisen in the mid-1800s. Ellis explores this thoroughly, though being thorough doesn't necessarily help the reader: even those on the moral high ground of abolition had some pretty offensive (and hypocritical) ideas and prejudices.

A final word about the author: lots of critics have knocked Ellis, and, therefore, the credibility of his work, because he had a bit of an honesty problem regarding military service during Viet Nam. I'm not defending that at all -- what I am saying is 1) I haven't seen any evidence that this work was in any way affected by this; and 2) have you ever lied on a resume? Cheated on your income tax forms? Told someone you were in the Navy Seals when you really spent your tour scraping barnacles off ship hulls? Just remember: let he who is without sin cast the first stone . . .

If you have an interest in U.S. history, I think you will find Ellis' book informative and an enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Too much...
Review: Good work overall by the author but may be too much for the casual reader. It is quite evident that the author is a college professor by the lengthy prose and obvious insertion of the biggest and most complex word selections. The author uses paragraphs for what could be conveyed by a few sentences. Excellent research throughout. Should be in the collection of every American history lover. RECOMMENDED.

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Summary: An important window on an important revolution
Review: The "Founding Brothers" is an excellent book, a MUST read for anyone with an interest in that period of American history. Essentially, Ellis ends up focusing the book on the John Adams - Thomas Jefferson relationship, which is revealing and fascinating. I especially enjoyed the material devoted to their retrospective writings following their reconciliation. The whole book, to me, was worth it with the remarkable insight by Adams (page 216): "It was patched and piebald policy then, as it is now, and ever was, and ever will be, world without end." For anyone who is participating somehow in the transition efforts of the newly democratic countries of Central and Eastern Europe, this is a quotation that should be set in marble over the portal of every parliament in the region; and embossed on the notebooks of every foreign advisor.
If I had to criticize the book, I might criticize the extensive focus on those two at the expense of more depth on others. But, I will not, because Ellis kept the book short and focused. Of course, there are other interesting investigations in the book, such as the Hamilton-Burr duel, and what it meant, and a good look at the role of Madison. But, the real core of the book is a wonderful exploration of the Adams-Jefferson relationship over a period of 50 years, and the drama of their almost simultaneous passing. Ellis seems to admire Adams greatly, with all his faults, but the book is not an apology for Adams. But, I think Ellis would be happy for the reader to come away with a new admiration of the contributions made by John Adams.
And to Jacques Barzun, who seems to play down the American Revolution as a turning point in European history (play down, not put down), I say read this book. The American Revolution was every bit as much of a philosophical change as any of the others, maybe more, and (after a long period) is making a major change (painfully) in the way Europe is governed. It was not simply a war of independence. To those who are puzzled by this reference, please read "From Dawn to Decadence" by Jacques Barzun. Well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Personality conflict and tension in a great history lesson
Review: Joseph J. Ellis, a professor of History at Mount Holyoke College, has brought history alive for me in this very comprehensive and tightly written book. Of course I've heard the names of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. But they were just stale names that I memorized some time in high school and which I've learned a bit more about from visits to museums. I really never thought about their personalities, or the many conflicts they had to go through that finally resulted in the United States of America I know and love today.

There are six sections of the book, and Ellis's technique is to describe the facts and then go into detail about the background, the myths and what issues have never totally be resolved - such as what actually might have happened in the Alexander Hamilton - Aaron Burr duel. Ellis is a student of character and brings the reader to logical conclusions based on what each man might have likely been thinking during moments that are critical to history. There is the secret dinner hosted by Jefferson for Hamilton and Madison which supposedly set the location of the nation's capitol in Washington in exchange for acceptance of Hamilton's financial plan of assuming state debts. There is the great silence about the subject of slavery and the unspoken agreements to stay away from this topic lest it destroy the fragile new nation. There is an exploration of the meaning of Washington's farewell address. And, most of all, it is about the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and how their fundamental differences effected the course of history. All this is absolutely fascinating.

Ellis is a good writer and knows how to engage the reader's attention. I found myself right in the that late 18th and early 19th century that was so important to the nation's beginnings. It was all not "self-evident" as Jefferson hoped it would be. There was constant bickering and conflicts. After all, this was an entirely new form of government being tested. And there were basic differences in philosophies. The path to the future was being developed as it went along. This must have been scary - and terribly exciting. I know that I felt all of that as I read this book and applaud the writer from taking it out of the specialized world of the historian and turning it into such a popular book. Recommended.