Rating: 
Summary: An Era Less Ordinary
Review: Like his description of James Madison, Joseph Ellis gives "the impression of someone with an infinite reservoir of additional information, all hidden away...fully prepared to go on for several more [chapters]" (pg. 53, paperback). He obviously has an extensive wealth of knowledge when it comes to our nation's founding fathers, but even more impressive is his ability to sift through that knowledge in a meaningful way. Anecdotally (via six situational snapshots), the reader uncovers the most salient issues and personalities of the 1790s. This book proves to be incandescent for someone like me, who formerly saw Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin and Hamilton (I don't think I ever even considered Burr) as wig-wearing, emotionless, pedantic stoics. I knew why they were praiseworthy, I just wasn't sure exactly how. Ellis reveals the passion and heated negotiations of the era, so the reader can see them for what they really were: revolutionary. A lot of recent ink has been devoted to the generation of the 1940s, and their claim to be our nation's "greatest generation." Ellis makes a convincing case for the generation that started it all - the first one. Now I see why.
Rating: 
Summary: Unconventional but worth persevering
Review: If you want a conventional biography of the founding fathers, then this isn't the book for you. It certainly presumes that you're American and learned a lot about the subjects at school. But, if you're interested in personalities and how they work together & against each other, then this is probably one of the best books to deal with these characters who struggled through some interesting times.
Rating:
Summary: one of the best nonfiction books I've read
Review: This is a very entertaining and enlightened look at early American History. Going into this all I knew were the vague memories left over from basic history classes in high school and college. Yet this book was very accessible and easy to read. This is the best scholarly type writing I have run across. It is crisp, to the point, and frequently funny. Absent is the pretentiousness of other scholarly writers who attempt to put out a work for the layman. But the true gem is in what Ellis decides is important to tell. He gives you real insight into the people by providing interesting details into their personal lives and characters. This is a nice job from start to finish and I recommend it for anyone who has any tiny interest in American History.
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Summary: Learn About The Real "Greatest Generation" Of Americans
Review: Wow! What a wonderful book! It has been a long time since I've read a history book that interprets so much information in such wonderful form. Founding Brothers explores American revolutionary history by exploring the personal relationships of the country's Founding Fathers. The book reads like a great novel, immersing the reader effortlessly into the lives of the principal characters. Why was slavery not abolished in 1776 when the "US" declared independence from the English throne? Why did Alexander Hamilton die after a duel with Adam Burr? What does this duel say about American history? Why was George Washington so influential? Why does Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. go by that name? Ellis goes very far in answering questions that are both trivial and profound. He writes about this generation, the real "Greatest Generation," with ease and incredible insight. He brings his characters back to live so that we made sit beside them as they debate the future of the United States and its role in the world. How powerful should the federal government be? Should U.S. foreign policy align itself with England or France, both or neither? If any of these questions sound boring to you, I can assure you that Ellis provides answers to them in ways that are entertaining and enriching. His storytelling strengths are phenomenal. This is an exceptionally good book, not just an exceptionally good history book. It won the Pulitzer Prize. If you read it, you will know why.
Rating:
Summary: well written, informative
Review: Founding Brothers is written with eloquence, wit, and learning -- so much learning that the author assumes we all know the ins and outs of the XYZ Affair or the Whiskey Rebellion, without being reminded. Okay, well, anyone who chooses this book to read can look those up elsewhere. A more serious problem is the title, which challenges a familiar perception, that of the Founding Fathers. If radically changing those fathers into brothers, Ellis should have meticulously elucidated his reasons for that change (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). Instead, all we get are a few scattered references to a band of brothers. Indeed, Ellis himself calls these leaders patriarchs. So why bother?
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Summary: Should be required reading for American schoolkids &citizens
Review: This book is truly a gem: small, well-crafted, brilliant, and the result of countless hours of hard labor. How many other historians could take a topic as vast as the American revolution, choose precisely those incidents and communications which best illuminate the key principles and principals, throw everything else out, and end up with an engaging series of seven stories that concludes in a mere 248 pages? It's hard to imagine a better introduction to the history of the American revolution. Ellis does not attempt to provide exhaustive coverage of every major event over the time period, and he correctly and thankfully avoids a blow-by-blow description of the battles of the war, since the fighting is not directly relevant to the meaning of the revolution. The focus instead is on the character of the key individuals, their different thoughts on what the revolution was about, and how the leadership was able to find a way to start a new political system that has managed to survive for over 200 years. Besides being an excellent historical overview of the revolution, there is much in Founding Brothers that is directly relevant to today's political discourse. Our country is still debating the proper role of governmental authority and the people (witness the California recall election), idealism versus realism (witness the debate over the war in Iraq), and statesmanship versus partisan politics (just pick up the newspaper). It is fascinating to read what our country's founders had to say about these issues and the strenuous debates that they had, most of which they couldn't resolve definitively either, and which were ultimately decided by razor thin votes (the 2000 presidential election). Founding Brothers has inspired me to learn more about the thoughts and characters of the founders. When I get to Adams and Jefferson, I may very well choose Ellis's books, since he researches his subjects thoroughly, writes very well, and looks at issues from multiple perspectives. Founding Brothers is a great place to start a study of the topic, and hopefully the recognition the Pulitzer committee gave this book will ensure that it is read by as many people as possible.
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Summary: Revisting some familiar old friends
Review: Opening the book with the shots fired between Hamilton and Burr in 1804, Joseph Ellis sets the tone of turmoil and passion that existed between the shapers of the new United States of America. Some of this is familiar ground: the Burr/Hamilton rivalry; moving the nation's capitol from NYC to DC; the almost revered presence of George Washington no matter what the situation, etc. But some things had a very new spin on our perceptions of early America--I don't know if Mr. Ellis is the first to rename the "Founding Fathers" to "Founding Brothers', with the sibling squabbling it implies, but it certainly fits. Also the nagging issue of slavery and how the determined efforts to avoid confronting it would consequently bring the country to Civil War decades later, is a dark theme running throughout. This is an accomplished book that I would recommend to anyone interested in this period.
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Summary: a great history; very readable
Review: Ellis provides an excellent introduction to the early history of the United States. By examining 6 of the pre-eminent figures in the creation and early leadership of the nation, readers get a feel for who these great minds were as people, rather than as the stuffy "founding fathers" of typical history books. They are exposed for all their inconsistencies, pettiness, quarrels, rivalries and vanities, making them human - and, to Ellis' credit, no less brilliant. A remarkable book and worthy of reading.
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Summary: A great insite to history
Review: This is a practical analysis of the things that had to be done by the people who had to do them when the United States was born. It showed to me that while law, regulation, theory, and skill were and continue to be very important to government, the force of personality, understanding of politics, and above all leadership were the most important requirements which put this country on a solid footing. The author does this through the interaction of personalities, showing weaknesses as well as strengths. His viewpoints are not unbiased, but he gives reasons for his preferences. Could it happen again? I guess only the requirements of LEADERSHIP in the future will tell. This is a wonderful book, full of insight, personality and a delight for the amateur historian.
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Summary: Early American politics: readable yet sophisticated history
Review: This book shows the author?s unusual knack for sharpening one?s understanding of the circumstances, issues, and forces which shaped the early history of the American republic by using as foil discrete episodes of this period which rarely come to the fore in other histories. Joseph Ellis chooses six episodes from which he launches a broader portrait of these times: the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton; the debate over the location of the permanent capital, an issue broached at a dinner at Thomas Jefferson?s house to which Hamilton and James Madison are his dinner guests; Washington?s Farewell Address; Adams? political partnership with his wife; the clash between Franklin and Madison over attempts to force Congress to tackle the slavery issue not longer after is was temporarily buried by the Constitutional Congress; and the correspondence between Jefferson and Adams. The book reads like a combination of separate stories woven into a fabric of political historical analysis of this period. While Ellis choice of six discrete events and the seven individuals who are his prime focus ? Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Burr, Franklin, Adams, and Washington ? seems eclectic, he masterfully weaves from the minutiae of these fragments of history a compelling broader portrait of the fragility of early American political institutions and processes which went on to create the longest enduring modern republic. The opening chapter on the Hamilton-Burr duel seems out of place with its apparently lesser focus on political issues of the times. However, it serves as a potent antidote to the traditional veneration of the ?Founding Fathers? -- reminding us that they were all individuals flawed in different ways.
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