Rating: 
Summary: Compelling reading
Review: Founding Brothers is a compelling read. You will be swept up by a series of anecdotes that will transport you back to the days of the early republic and remind you of how difficult, how downright improbable it was that such an audacious enterprise as the founding of a large republic should suceed. And we do need the reminder. It is, after, all only "a republic, if you can keep it." The founding fathers, as Ellis ably reminds us, were willing to lie, cheat and steal the freedom of black men and women, but they did build a viable democracy, and that was no small achievement. I place this one alongside BULLOUGH'S POND as the best narrative I've read in American history this year.
Rating:
Summary: A Damn Good Read
Review: Joe Ellis is well known for his biography of Jefferson (it won the National Book Award). This book, his most recent, will only elevate his reputation.In a series of historical vignettes, the reader learns about (among other things) the famous but mysterious duel between Hamilton and Burr, the awkward problem of slavery in the 1790s, the collaboration between Madison and Jefferson, George Washington's farewell and the famous relationship between John Adams (who is underappreciated according to Ellis) and Jefferson. Every vignette reads like a short story. The facts are riveting, the writing (as usual) is lucid, succint and sufficiently surprising. And the historical era of the 1790s can't fail to interest us all. There's absolutely no reason why this should not be the next book you buy. Get it for Christmas and give it as a gift to someone else. Where else will you learn, with such intelligence and historical insight, how majestic Washington was, how human Adams was, how strange Jefferson's personality was, and how conniving all the politicians were in the salad days of our country?
Rating: 
Summary: A quick, entertaining read, however, not deep in perspective
Review: Ellis concentrates his emphasis on seminal events during the early formation of our country and government. A great deal of the book, however, focuses on previous material on the relationship between Adams and Jefferson. In addition, the first chapter on the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton is left out of place with no further context outlined later in the book. Certain founding brothers such as Franklin and Burr are not dealt with in any great detail. The chapter on Washington's Farewell Address was the best vignette in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying story of yesterday helps understand today
Review: History at its best provides us with some understanding of today. A recent trend has been to look not just at material explainations of how things turn out, but also at the cultural and social values that guided behavior. This book examines the personalities and actions of a few closely connected people and how the decisions they made set in motion later events, like the success of the republican government they created, the civil war and more. The thread that ties it together is the dynamic between strong federal government and states rights. The book shows that the issue was never resolved. Instead, a system was created where the relationship could be dynamically reformulated over time. The book shows how the personalities and beliefs of these key people and the compromises they made at that time created a system which has proved to be incredibly resilient. The book is very well written, with turns of phrases that make me laugh out loud or read them to my wife and friends.
Rating: 
Summary: Founding Fathers
Review: Joseph Ellis has done a remarkable job at the condensing of, and granting expression to, the seven most influential men of the 1790's. The last two chapters, concerning largely the Adams Jefferson relationship are the strongest points of the book from two standpoints; granting life to the two icons, and excellent sholarly research. It's ease of reading allows the reader to gain insights into the personalities, and their corresponding idealogies, that shaped the emerging American ethic. This is a good combination of philosophical underpinnings, and humanity, that benefit anyone concerned with this critical period of American History. Thank you Mr. Ellis
Rating:
Summary: History taught as it should
Review: Ellis deviates from the normal revisionist viewpoint so common in our modern day history books--HE TELLS THE TRUTH. More importantly he does so in such a unique way that the reader hates putting the book down. Mr. Ellis so vividly recreates the stage for his players that the reader feels Mr. Adams, Jefferson, Washington and Hamilton are there sharing the moment. Never have I read history where the facts were so evenly portrayed. We need more books like this. No doubt Mr. Ellis will be criticized by his contemporaries for trying to resurrect the "dead white male" heroes of our great country. Jeffersonian zealots (truth be told, I was one of them) beware as Mr. Ellis makes a verying compelling case for Mr. Adams as the true pioneer of freedom despite Mr. Jefferson's sometimes duplicitious actions to the contrary. In short, I loved this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very informative
Review: Joseph J. Ellis has now made a habit of writing interesting books about the American Revolution and its aftermath. In his latest effort, Founding Brothers, Ellis concentrates on six incidents involving seven of our foremost American patriots. The topics (or chapters) range from slavery and the national debt to the location of the national capital and the disasterous administration of John Adams. While my favorite chapter deals with the dinner involving Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison. In which the federal government assumed the national debt from the states, for the relocating of the federal government, on the Potomac River. Jefferson and Madison also made sure that, unlike Great Britain or France, the national capital would not be the financial center of the country. Among the other informative points that Ellis brings up was that Hamilton was the only prominent American casualty of the ideological differences stemming from the decades after the American Revolution. The growing unpopularity of Washington's second administration with other prominent Virginians which culminated with his Farewell Address was also interesting. Founding Brothers is an exceptionally easy and quick book to read. Ellis repeatedly informs us what the world was like in the 1790's, when there was little historical precedence for a republican style of government or a biracial society. There were many labrythine agreements made between the founding brothers and Ellis' research is highly commendable in attempting to sort it all out. For anyone interested in the years that followed the ratification of the Constitution and the beginnings of our present day government, this book is a must.
Rating: 
Summary: A hash job
Review: Ellis makes it clear from the start where his sympathies lie with the Revolutionary generation and he ambushes us with Abigail Adams for good measure. Of the six stories, only The Silence is revealing for Ellis' feeble attempt to portray the slavery debate as a South-against-South issue. He lavishes attention on a hillbilly from Georgia simply to whitewash a Virginian like Jefferson, who in fact held the same, if not worse, attitudes about his slaves (all conveniently ignored by Ellis). Hamilton was the closest as any of these founding brothers came to believing that blacks and whites were equal and his financial system doomed slavery in a way Adams and his fine rhetoric could never hope to, but he barely rates a mention.
Rating:
Summary: Provides Fresh Insight!
Review: One measure of a book done well is that it makes you want to learn more about the subject. By this measure alone, Founding Brothers is a great book.
There has been some criticism of the book and it may be a tough read for some, but if you can get past the rather long Preface the rest of the book is thoroughly enjoyable. Ellis begins his book with a chapter on the Hamilton-Burr duel and he does so in a fashion that captures the reader in a tantalizing fashion. More like fiction than fact! Each succeeding chapter introduces an array of founding brothers, providing insight into their lives, relationships, and more importantly their political differences.
At a time when the trend has been to soft-peddle American History, downplaying the roles played by these very important men, Ellis does us a great service with this trend reversing narrative. These men knew they were on the stage and they knew their words and deeds would be recorded for future generations. Ellis points out that if they appear like actors to us that is because they almost were. But what Ellis has clearly shown, is that for these men, politics was intensely personal, and while they may have come together as one to assert their independence from Britain, their views about the future of governance in the United States varied greatly and was hotly contested.
If you think you might be interested in the issues we faced as a budding nation and the personalities that held us together when there were those who would have splintered our union, this book will more than meet your needs. Ellis has a real gift for bringing the past to life and you would be hard pressed to find a better introduction to these famous personalities.
Rating:
Summary: Some things they foresaw, some they didn't
Review: This is a great account of how a few episodes shaped our country soon after 1776. The real work began after the British left. The issue of slavery tabled to ensure that the Northern and Southern states could at least agree to a federal government. An amazing account of gentlemen who had no idea what would become of their "country". The most fascinating part is the Adams-Jefferson friendship/feud/friendship of 2 very different political ideals.
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