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.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for all Americans
Review: This book is a must read for all Americans, especially those who are interested in the history of the revolutionary war era. This book, through original research, sheds light on events that our history teachers only glance over in school. Typical teachings of this subject matter fail to go into the detail that Ellis has with this book. He examines not only events, but the individual traits that affected the outcome of the era. Ellis covers six important historial events in this book:
1. The Duel - The events surrounding and leading up to the famous duel between Aaorn Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Ellis examines historical documents to determine the intent of the two men and why the duel ended with Hamilton's death.
2. The Dinner - Thomas Jefferson brokers a deal between Alexander Hamilton, who wanted the federal government to assume state debts after the war, and James Madison, who wanted to ensure the new federal capital would be on the Potomac River.
3. The Silence - In order to get Southern states to ratify the Constitution, the Nothern states proposed not to address the issue of slavery for 20 years. However, after 3, the Quakers petitioned the new Congress to abolish the practice.
4. The Farewell - Washington's Farewell Address, written by Alexander Hamilton at the request of President Washington.
5. The Collaborators - The relationship between John Adamns and his wife, Abagail.
6. The Friendship - The re-establishment of friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
While some may be disappointed that these stories show that the founding fathers were just as flawed as politicans today, it is important to understand the truth about what happened, rather than have a fairy tale understanding that reflects more myth than truth. Perhaps the realization that the revolution was not as inevitable as some believe, will allow people to have a better understanding an appreciation for the government as it exists today. A must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Blegh yuck
Review: This book is badly written, and the language is completely foggy. This guy can go on and on about a simple concept, and jeez it's almost as though he is ranting on about the first thing that comes to mind in big words. His writing technique seems to be to interrupt every sentence w/ foggy off the subject information in perenthesis. By the time you figure out what the hell he is talking about, you forget what the sentence was about in the first place. Have you ever talked to someone who began telling you a story but then interrupted it 85 times w/ other small events? It's like that. Must he include EVERY thought that came into his mind while writing?
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction
Review: This is a fascinating modern introduction to the founding fathers. The writing is superb. I suspect the criticism about his writing below comes from reviewers whom are either not serious readers or are tackling this book too early in their reading career.
The book is split into six sections, the first by far the weakest (too much about the duel itself). The intro and sections 2-6 [...] into a quest to learn everything about the founders I could. You will want to learn more after this book and you will trust Ellis as a guide with his excellent bibliography.
Some tantilizing tidbits:
1. President Adams thought Hamilton's behind the scenes manuevering to raise an army in response to French agression was a ploy to make himself an American Napolean. In reality Hamilton wanted to lead a campaign down to South America in order to kick out the Spanish and all other European influences.
2. In the last half of President Adam's term his vice president, Jefferson paid off smear-mongers to sully Adam's reputation. Just before the election, Hamilton, prefering Jefferson over Adams, openly penned a character assasination of Adams. Hamilton's work contributed to Adam's ouster, the end of his own career, and the new administration of Jefferson as president and Aaron Burr as vice-president Burr would go on to kill Hamilton in a duel.
3. Jefferson was delegated the task of writing the Declaration of Indepence, it was not a top priority... independence was a fait accompli.
All this stuff jumps out of memory after reading Ellis' book.
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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