Rating: 
Summary: Jeffersonians Beware!
Review: An excellent biography of the three leading fugures of the American Revolution. Ferling makes a compelling case to restore the reputation of John Adams to its rightful place. Adams deserves to be remembered as more than a grumpy counter-figure to Jefferson's optimism. The author also strongly attacks Jefferson by calling into question the lack of leadership evidenced by Jefferson throughout the Revolutionary years. Committment was provided by Adams and Washington when things looked bleak. When Jefferson was tending his vines at Monticello, Washington led troops and Adams served around the world. If you are interested in the Early Republic, this is a must read! You may disagree with his conclusions but they are well argued and refreshing.
Rating: 
Summary: brief, but a must read
Review: anyone new to the early history of the republic should consider reading this book. while it is quite brief, ferling does a decent job of telling the tale of the revolution through the eyes of the first three presidents. at times he is heavy handed with jefferson, but any student of the american revolution should know that jefferson's greatest contributions came after independence was secured. the reverence for the declaration of independence came long after it was written; its impact at the time is highly debatable. ferling spends a great deal of time trying to pull adams from the depths of obscurity-his bias is evident-but does make a compelling argument that adams is worthy of the praise. it should be noted that this book ends, for all intents and purposes, and the end of the war, and is merely an assessment of the contributions that washington, adams, and jefferson made during the revolution, and is not an evaluation of their presidencies. nevertheless, it is worthy of your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Perspective for a History Professor
Review: As an avid reader of the American Revolution, I had heard great things about this book. Unfortunately, it was terribly disappointing. Ferling spends too much time raising Adams to god-like status, in an apparent attempt to continue his sole rehabilitation of Adams' place in our history (see Ferling's other writings). In short, it's a shame that an author that is a history professor spends so much time in the present analyzing what Washington or Jefferson should have done instead of telling us what they did keeping in mind the time period and atmosphere of the late 18th century. If you are looking for a critical analysis of our Founding Fathers, this book is for you. However, if you are looking for, heaven forbid, a book about history, skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written and Engaging American History
Review: Fascinating and immediate, "Setting the World Ablaze" follows America's first three presidents from their childhood days through their restless early adulthoods and ultimately to their placement at the fore of the new country. I've read a few books revolving around the Revolutionary war, and found this one similar in style (if more focused in scope) to A.J. Langguth's great overview, "Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution." Any fan of one book should read the other. Any student or casual reader new to Revolutionary-era history, and who is looking for a digestible and captivating narrative approach, should give this one a try--you'll come away feeling that you understand these historical giants as ambitious but ultimately very human men.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome and such a pleasure - Am Hist made FUN
Review: Ferling writes in a very enjoyable and easy style, and in a comparative way that captivates. He skips from each former President to the next during similar periods and experiences in each's life - a style that I found a pleasure to read...Surely a tenured history professor and professional scholar knows better than an "avid reader." At any rate, I really enjoyed this book and strongly recommend it. One comes away with plenty of knowledge on our first three Presidents, but after reading only one book. Most importantly, the book is an accurate and thrilling look into the lives of three people who shaped our nation during its conception and infancy.
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Summary: Sit right back and you`ll hear a tale...
Review: I still am amazed at American Revolutionary History. It is inspiring and humbling when looked at honestly. Ferling's book takes an honest look at the figures of Washington, Adams and Jefferson, as well as the social contexts each was existing and developing in during the Revolutionary period. He does not make excuses for their weaknesses, or exagerations for their strengths. This book is wonderful history.
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Summary: Incendiaries of Freedom
Review: So many books have already been published about the American Revolution as well as about Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. Ferling brilliantly analyzes all three towering figures within a specific historical context, to be sure, but also in terms of each other. He creates and then explores a matrix of juxtapositions between and among them, comparing and contrasting all three in relation to each other but also in relation to the historical context on which each had such a profound impact. What Ferling has created is both a history book of panoramic scope and a trilogy of interrelated (and to some extent interdependent) biographies. It is so well-written that I often thought I was reading a novel.Since childhood, I have viewed certain books as "magic carpets." I include Ferling's book among them. It transported me back more than 200 years and deposited me amidst the brave and brilliant men who were about to set the world "ablaze" with their incendiary passion for an independence soon to be declared and eventually to be achieved. Ferling guides his reader through this highly combustible process. Of special interest to me is Ferling's presentation of Adams (characterized as the "Bulwark" of the American Revolution), a founding father not always mentioned in the same breath with Washington and Jefferson. With all due respect to Jefferson's accomplishments, Ferling concludes the final chapter with this observation: "To the end, he was incapable of accepting the reality of his culpability in the perpetuation and expansion of African slavery and the danger it now posed to the achievements of the American Revolution." And then in the Epilogue, Ferling asserts that the Revolutionary generation "was indeed fortunate to have had Washington and Adams as its greatest stewards and shepherds." If you have a keen interest in the War for Independence and, especially, in those who led the new nation through and beyond that war, there is this magic carpet I know about....
Rating: 
Summary: An easy, relaxing read.
Review: This brief (300 pages) history of the American Revolution, as seen through the actions of Adams, Jefferson, and Washington, is a thoroughly enjoyable, pool side type of read. Granted, it is a superficial history of the Revolution, but provides an interesting perspective of the motivations, interactions, and rather different personalities of the three founding fathers. Mr. Ferling's work does seem to be at times rather colored in favor of Washington and Adams, which might be expected, as he has written biographies of our first and second presidents. He makes some rather interesting comments about Jefferson's personality; comments which come close to a psychoanalysis of our third president. Overall, if you are searching for a history of the revolution, this work is not for you. If you are ready for a relaxing narrative of the revolution, and the actions of these three individuals, you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: An easy, relaxing read.
Review: This brief (300 pages) history of the American Revolution, as seen through the actions of Adams, Jefferson, and Washington, is a thoroughly enjoyable, pool side type of read. Granted, it is a superficial history of the Revolution, but provides an interesting perspective of the motivations, interactions, and rather different personalities of the three founding fathers. Mr. Ferling's work does seem to be at times rather colored in favor of Washington and Adams, which might be expected, as he has written biographies of our first and second presidents. He makes some rather interesting comments about Jefferson's personality; comments which come close to a psychoanalysis of our third president. Overall, if you are searching for a history of the revolution, this work is not for you. If you are ready for a relaxing narrative of the revolution, and the actions of these three individuals, you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, Great on Adams, But Fundamentally Flawed
Review: This is a book that most readers will thoroughly enjoy, especially as it purports to bring a new 'twist' to our views of the revolutionary period. For the most part, it is well written, and Ferling annotates heavily to primary source material. So, why don't I love the book? Two, perhaps three, major flaws stand out in my view: 1. Ferling attributes to the protagonists characters motivated primarily by a desire for 'social mobility' - a concept which would surely have been alien to all three of Washington, Jefferson and Adams since the term first appeared in an essay of Frederick Jackson Turner (of the famous 'frontier thesis') published around the turn of the 20th century. Ambitious, they surely were, but as Christopher Lasch points out in some of his late essays, notions of advancement in the 18th & 19th centuries were very different from what we think of as social mobility today. This, I think, detracts from an otherwise insightful read on Adams, and to some extent, Washington. 2. In the end, Ferling evaluates the characters of the three men primarily in terms of there reaction to and views of slavery. Surely, it was an issue, but to pass judgement on the founders based on modern notions of what consititute politically correct views of slavery seriously mars Ferling's work as professional history. 3. The book is highly partisan against Jefferson -- whether this is because Ferling is an Adams partisan or dislikes Jefferson on slavery or what-have-you, it is as negative a case against Jefferson as one will see since he was attacked while in office by the Federalists. I suppose whether this is a flaw or not depends on ones view of Jefferson, but I think a more balanced and nuanced treatment of Jefferson would significantly improve the book. I recently reread Gore Vidal's Aaron Burr, which was exceptionally vitriolic on both Washington and Jefferson (being told from Burr's viewpoint) and Ferling is hardly easier on Washington (other than attributing better motives) and as hard on Jefferson. Those seeking historical balance won't find it here, but only those who already have a good command of the material will be able to see where Ferling strays from judicious use of original source material into blatantly partisan analysis based on modern categories and political agenda.
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