Rating: 
Summary: A revealing title
Review: If you want to gain an understanding of the uncertainties surrounding the revolutionary generation as well as the relationships between and among the aptly titled founding brothers, you simply must read this book. The title is revealing because it because it foreshadows what I see as the major theme of the book. That is that these men were and are not some distant, sometimes foreboding fathers. They were young men with all the passions which were often virtues and also often faults. But it was first their devotion to a common cause that allowed them to all hang together rather than separately, to paraphrase Ben Franklin; and second their passion for the republic they created that allowed them to continue to hang together despite their political and personal differences. They were brothers.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fraternity of Genius
Review: Historians can be forgiven for deifying the men who made the American Revolution. Looking back from our cynical century, it's easy to regard their greatness as something above the human experience. In "Founding Brothers", Joseph Ellis retains all the immense respect due to Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Monroe, Hamilton and Burr. But by examining their relationships through a fraternal prism, he renders them three dimensional and accessible to those who long to understand more about exactly what happened during the revolution, and why. These icons of American independence are wholly human in "Founding Brothers." Like brothers in any family, they fight battles of ideas, egos, and principles. But when threatened from without, they come together in a fierce synthesis strong enough to spawn a nation. Ellis spins his story in a series of vignettes, focusing on very specific moments which changed the nature of the events swirling around them. He creates an intimacy with his subjects, exploring their psychology, their thought processes, plumbing the origins of their motivations. In the first chapter, for instance, he describes all the various possibilities of what went on during the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr on the banks of the Hudson in 1804. By carefully turning over all the possibilities--did Hamilton's gun go off or not, did he intend to strike Burr, did Burr indeed mean to strike Hamilton--he opens the door to an understanding about what each man thought as his boat crossed from Manhattan to New Jersey for the fateful meeting. The book abounds with intimate anecdotes like this, covering all the well worn subjects of revolutionary history and re-invigorating them with keen insights and intelligent conjecture. It covers Jefferson's dinner party, the tortured issue of slavery, Washington's farewell address, and the remarkable fifty year asssociation of Adams and Jefferson with affection and elegant style.
Rating:
Summary: Founding Brothers
Review: Founding Brothers Joseph J Ellis' latest work on the life and achievments of the revolutionary generation is both an excellent biography and a wonderful introduction to the personalities and principles that contributed to the formation of the early American Republic. So much in this book is worthy of note it is difficult to single out one particular part but the chapter on George Washington's Farewell Address is particulary relevant in that Mr Ellis discses a document that while seminal to the foundation of early Republic is perhaps not as well known to those of us who only see George Washington as a staid icon on the dollar bill. Joseph J Ellis is also the author of an excellent biography of Thomas Jefferson. I would highly recommend this book, 'Founding Brothers' as both an excellent biographical study and a supurb examination of the problems--from slavery to the powers of the Executive branch of goverenment as spelled out in the Constitution--which confronted the founders of this Republic in its early day's. Would that more people were familiar with Mr Ellis' work for he is a wonderful writer, very honest and quite exact in the way he describes our founding fathers many of whom were great men in their time but were, for all their other skills, still human and thus subject to the same faults which plauge us all.
Rating:
Summary: Up close and personal
Review: Founding Brothers is potentially the most exciting set of historical short stories I've read. The background perspective on these of the truly "greatest generation" is at once, exciting, scandalous, rich in history, informative and easy reading. Never had I read the full accounting of the Burr-Hamilton duel, including the acount of Hamilton's son who also died in a duel at that spot. Perhaps the most interesting of the vignettes for me was the long relationship of Jefferson and Adams. This was a soap opera, psychoanalysis, history in the making rolled up in one huge interplay between the two. Jefferson comes off not as great as many imagine while Adams gained my respect more than I'd had for him the past. Whille Jefferson appears to have benefited historically primarily for penning (but not creating) the Declaration, Adams was more thoughtful, less arsitocratic than portayed in most accounts. Adams considered May 15th a more significant date than July 4th. My only dissapointment was that there wasn't inclusion of Sam Adams. I'm sure there was a reason, but it was partly due to his firebrand radicalism that sparked a lot of the revolution (e.g., tea party). This in no way takes away from what I consider the best in depth reading on the revoltionary generation.
Rating:
Summary: Founding Brothers
Review: In Founding Brothers, Joseph Ellis offers an excellent portrayal of the primary players of post-revolutionary America. The book is extremely readable which makes it appealing to a wide range of readers, yet provides the serious scholar with insightful historical analysis. Ellis establishes his thesis and develops it throughout the book, though , arguably, some chapters are more successful than others.The book is by design not chronological, but does include detailed analysis of each founding father. Yet the book is not patriotic flag waving. Ellis' style is reminiscent of the consensus historians of the 1950s but with a modern approach. His portrayal shows the founding fathers separated by personalities and differences of opinion, but with the unique ability to set ambitions aside (more or less) to accomplish the nation's business. For instance, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were both Federalists yet they hated one another, Ben Franklin drew criticism for anti-slavery beliefs, Thomas Jefferson ceased correspondence with George Washington (forever) and Adams (for fifteen years), James Madison and Hamilton divided the government, and Aaron Burr eventually killed Hamilton. But with the exception of this final example all were able to deal with these differences for the good of the country. Ellis illustrates his chapters with masterful synthesis. There are times when Ellis' theory appears to wander, as with the case of slavery and the official "silence" that governed the subject. In this case the problem did not go away but instead exploded seventy years later in civil war. He also meanders throughout the chapter on Jefferson and Adams to the point that reading becomes tedious, but his overall effort is not adversely impacted. It is Ellis' ability to synthesize that makes Founding Brothers so appealing. Political rivalries are not the product of recent history. Indeed, they are endemic to every generation of politicians. But Ellis' point is that these differences do not have to permanently scar the nation as a whole. Though he does not say it, this book ought to be required reading for anyone who enters Congress. The message is simple: check individual ambition at the Capitol door and perform the duties they were elected to do. In fact the first paragraph of "The Collaborators" should be the required method for determining presidential races. Practically anyone who picks up this volume will not be disappointed. Ellis takes a complex period of history with an extremely complicated set of characters, and puts it into a concise, enjoyable format that amuses as well as teaches the reader.
Rating:
Summary: An Important Look At the Founders
Review: A surprisingly easy read that let's the reader into the private minds and private relationships of the Founding Fathers. The excellent research will give one a new insight into the philosophy underlying the newly created nation. Reading this will really bring home just how difficult it was to create this nation that we take so for granted these days. And Ellis is also not afraid to reveal the nasty underside of the founders with regard to slavery, which is especially powerful when contrasted with the philsophy they put in place that eventualy undid that most evil of institutions. They were brilliant in spite of themselves, a lesson for us all.
Rating:
Summary: They Ain't Heavy, They My Brothers
Review: The problems with most historical books aimed at the commericial market is that they tend to be longer and require more of an investment than today's average, time-zapped, "annalite"/bibleophile find profitable. Not so with this, Ellis's latest offering to the field. Truth be told, I would have given this book 5&1/2 stars out of 6 if I could. Each one, minus 1/2, for the 6 vignettes that Ellis uses almost perfectly to make the argument named in their titles. The theses made in the titles are supposed to allow the reader to understand what Ellis argues are the defining moments in post Revolutionary American history. I say 5&1/2 stars only because the first chapter is by far the weakest. Ellis seems to undercut the need for it with his own arguments of what happened at "the interview on the shores of Weehawken" and why it is a defining snapshot of the period, other than the fact that it ended the lives of two founding figures. Get through the first 47 pages(which are interesting--in a forensic way, if less germane philisophically than the following 5 chapters)and you will feel pleasantly vested by the remaining 201 pages. Ellis goes onto, deliberately or not, to refute the idea that we are a nation of laws, not men. This work makes us realize that it was only these sometimes great sometimes horrid inidivduals, that all Americans trace their democratic lineage from, who were responsible for keeping the dream of democracy alive. Ellis shows how the Constitution was still wet behind the ears and hardly ready for any title weight challenges. It was only her big brothers, who were willing to fight(or not fight)on her behalf that, allowed her to reach the point of maturity where she is today. Funny, the nation gets older but her leaders still remain seemingly juvenile. Indeed, Ellis's revelations--and more important, his cross contextual interpretations, offer the reader a real sense of connection to individuals and ideas that, to this day, still define us as a people, yet somehow too posses that inevitable ghostly disconnect. You will find yourself appalled by the "silences" that happened until you read today's headlines. Then Ellis's work provides great clarity. Not just that everything old is new again, rather that "the great experiment" is not over yet. While the rules of democratic science are for the most part set, his work reminds us that this game of governance is only as good as the gamesmanship of the players on the field. Take off your red, white and blue colored glasses folks. Ellis shows that the spirits from 1776 weren't as noble as they look on the statues in statuary hall, yet most of them did prove to be as immobile as they are captured today. One other minor critisizm. The book jacket portrays seven founders on the cover. The book really only focuses on 5 of the fathers. Burr does do a couple of cameos after chapter 1 before heading off into the sunset of historical oblivian, but Ben Franklin is only briefly euologized. I would have liked to read more about how the founding grandfather interplayed with his less than peers. Because I liked the book so much, I'll chalk that error up to some ad/design executive at Knopf who thinks they were smart enough to know that aside from George Washington, Ben Franklin is the most recognizable caricature from American Revolutionary history. Being the face of the most coveted monetary denomination will do wonders for one's image. I do hope Ellis objected to pandering Ben on the cover and helping Knopf squeeze out a few more of those bills for themselves. Still, a great investment of 26 bucks. Keep it on your reference shelf and past it on to your friends who say they don't like to read history. Ellis's mastery creates buffs.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Understanding of our American Predecessors
Review: Actually this is the first of his books I have read. I enjoyed thoroughly. I have purchased Passionate Sage and American Sphinx for future reading. The only section of the book I would consider poor is the section where the author recalls the slave debate in the early congress that brought about the gag rule. The account was extremely succint and somewhat discursive. The other sections were top notch. The discourse describing the duel was very well written. The events unfold like a dramatic novel. Not only does Ellis provide a sound description of the events, his commentary on these two men allow one to ascertain the reasons why the duel took place. In my opinion the best two ideas in the book were the sections on Washington and the sections dealing with the relationship between our second and third presidents. Ellis describes Washington as the "only indespinsable character" of the revolution. We to understand how Washingtons bold actions defined the strenght of the presidency. The last sections of the book deal with the passionate duo of Adams and Jefferson. Adams was the bold thinker of the revolution, and Jefferson was the eloquent eppresser of the revolution. There is almost a palpable jealously in Adams because Jeffersons public acclaimation was greater than his. Ellis does a fine job of providing the reader with a microcosm in order to allow them to grasp the monstrous subject he deals with.
Rating:
Summary: Brothers in Love and Hate
Review: The Founding Fathers did not all like each other all the time, sometimes harboring murderous feelings that in one instance were translated into action. They loved liberty, and they loved each other as they worked toward their vision, but like brothers, they didn't always like each other. In _Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation_ (Alfred A. Knopf), Joseph Ellis takes a look at key episodes of the 1790s, the decade after the Constitution was instituted; for some reason our own time has produced many books to look at this particular decade. He examines the famous duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, the first great national compromise Jefferson engineered between Madison and Hamilton, the silence of the founders on the issue of slavery, Washington's Farewell Address, and finally, and best, the famous correspondence between Jefferson and Adams. He eloquently summarizes the half-century relationship between the two giants. Collaborators and close friends during the Revolution, they had become rivals during the leadership of Washington, and if never exactly enemies, they had maintained an angry epistolary silence for many years before resuming their famous epistolary friendship. The physician Benjamin Rush cajoled the two to begin a correspondence, and in 1812, Adams made the first move. He was motivated to challenge the Jefferson version of history, but he explained poignantly, "You and I ought not to die before We have explained ourselves to each other." Explain to each other they did, for 158 letters over the fourteen years until their simultaneous deaths, but they were also explaining to posterity, and they knew it. They rehashed many battles, but the old problem of how to deal with slavery was barely mentioned; silence ruled in a time that could have allowed action, and silence ruled in reminiscence, too. Ellis, a scholar who has written well-regarded biographies of both Jefferson and Adams, has done a fine job of showing the issues of the time, and the difficulties of steering the newly-launched ship of state, not only a new country, but one founded on principles never before tried. It is vivid and compelling.
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Summary: ELLIS VERY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF THE JEFFERSON DNA STUDY
Review: Professor Ellis tries to come across as an authority on the Jefferson/Hemings DNA and has tried to portray that in various publications and again in this latest book he is spreading misleading information. On pgs. 201 and 202 he again feels compelled to bring up the Thomas Jefferson/Sally Hemings "Campaign Lies" of the reporter James Callender, which was DISPELLED by the very DNA test that he now cites next. He says, "but this delectable morsel of scandal, which was ONLY CONFIRMED AS CORRECT (my caps) beyond any reasonable doubt by DNA studies done in 1998, did not arrive in time to help (he is speaking of the Adams/Jefferson election)." Dr. E.A. Foster, of whom I assisted, explains the true meaning of this study in a New York Times piece in December 1998 and again in the January 7, 1999 edition of Nature Journal (where Dr. Ellis and Dr. Lander had an equally misleading story in the November 5, 1998 issue). While I encourage the reader to read this book, please be aware that Dr. Joseph J. Ellis has NO EVIDENCE to back up such statements. He mentions some friends and mentors on page x, one of those being Stephen Smith, Editor of US News and World Report. It must be remembered that it was this publication that released 10 pages (including a seperate story by Dr. Ellis), plus cover of the DNA Study just in time for the election and during the problems our current president was experiencing with the impeachment proceedings. Dr. Foster only sent his story about September 15, 1998 but YET we have a story on the newstands (Nov. 2, 1998) even BEFORE Nature Journal can get the article out on November 5, 1998. Herbert Barger Jefferson Family Historian
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