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Summary: Joseph Ellis and the Founding Fathers
Review: Joseph Ellis set out to compose ground-breaking book about the Founding Fathers and their interactions. While the idea for the book is good, the approach Ellis took to flawed. In the historical sense, the book is very strong. The problems is Ellis's writing begin with his addition of personal insights into history. Applying his beliefs and psychology in this scenario just did not seem appropriate. The portions of the book I found most entertaining were the chapters on the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton and the chapters on the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. While the chapter on Adams and Jefferson are largely objective, they seem to be skewed against John Adams at times. The other chapters seem to explore the faults of the founder's personality more than their historical significance. It seems rather arrogant for Ellis to make some of his insinuations. The opinion of Jefferson in this book seems low despite the fact that Ellis has devoted an entire book to him. Additionally, while at first seeming critical of George Washington, the author changes direction. Aside from Ben Franklin, I believe Washington is the most worshiped figure in this book. The uneveness of the discussions and the author's seemingly baseless insights are the downfall of the book. The chapter of the Burr/Hamilton may have been the strongest point of the book. Ellis goes into the greatest depth I have ever read on the topic. His explanations of the potential scenarios which led to Hamilton's death are well thought out. In this and other chapters, Ellis lays out the evidence as to why Alexander Hamilton was so unpopular with his contemporaries. His scathing prose, made me question how Hamilton could be on the twenty dollar bill. The flaws in Burr's character and his iminent demise seem strong and well documented. While I have read better accounts of the relationship between Adams and Jefferson, I am always interested in their interactions and complex friendship which inadvertently caused the development of a two party system and partisanism. The accounts of their interactions is fairly strong. I respect the fact that Ellis used portion of their letters to each other as support for his arguments. I believe much of the praise for this book is exaggerated. While I feel it has some strong points and well written sections, it does have some fundamental flaws which seem rather glaring. In spite of the flaws, I felt it was a worth while read.
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Summary: The founding brothers bickered like real ones
Review: I have read a number of biographies of the "founding brothers" and found that Ellis' treatment of the same material to be refreshing. Somewhere it was said that a biographer will "fall in love" with his subject and lose objectivity. A case in point might be the John Adams biography where many of the other characters were too unidimensional. The portraits were richer and more fleshed out than in a standard biography or history text. Here, Ellis presents some of the important, yet unstudied, turning points of American politics. I found that I could digest a chapter at a time and then return to the book a few days later.
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Summary: The Personalities that Shaped a Republic
Review: For the casual reader of history, Joseph Ellis' vignettes on some of the most important events of the early American Republic not only give us great insight into the fundamental elements of our American Democracy, but also the stories demonstrate how the personalities of the "founding brothers" shaped the key dimensions of our current system of government. I am intrigued with Ellis' contention that it was a finite group of men who were in close relationship with one another that influenced the events of the early Republic. Within that context, we can see how the larger themes emerge and how the personalities of those involved shaped those themes. Whether it be Jefferson and Madison's strategic decision to rebuff John Adams' offer for a coalition government and instead organize a partisan opposition to the Federalists, Franklin's actions to fuel the fire of the early abolitionist movement or Washington's commitment to nation building, each episode illustrates key conflicts and issues that remain with us in one version or another today. Founding Brothers is a tremendous exercise in how to make our history relevant and engaging.
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Summary: A Little too Imaginative........
Review: Due to the exceptional writing skills of the author, I didn't stop enjoying this book until the latter part of it. I can appreciate a degree of imagination thrown in to what can be excruciatingly dry history, but the author went well beyond what seemed proper. He threw so much of himself into the chapter titled "The Friendship" that came off as wreckless.....and ruined what was otherwise an excellent book.
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Summary: Intimate, important, and intriguing American history...
Review: I'm a history junkie, but have always taken a particular fascination to American Revolutionary History. J. Ellis' book "Founding Fathers" is one of the highest quality of its kind. Ellis doesn't settle in simply recounting the period in some chronological order or with a particular emphasis on an individual; rather, he looks at the entire period holistically. "Founding Brothers" examines the extremely precarious, fragile, and doubt ridden formation of this nation. We sometimes forget (as powerful as the USA has become) that this nation wasn't an inevitability, that freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of individual happiness wasn't exactly on the ruling class' minds back in 1700's. Many millenia had gone by ignorant to the value of these principals before a handful of noble, determined, oppressed, and brilliant men organized and changed history forever. "Founding Brothers" is an aptly titled play on the popular label for those men (Founding Fathers); it reveals the seldom mentioned intimacy between them, and how personalities, and the interplay between them determined so much about how and when this country would organize and face the myriad difficult choices about what it stands for, and (as in the case of slavery), what it couldn't afford to stand for. This is a wonderful read for all levels; from history buffs to those passively interested in how America became what it is.
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Summary: Very insightful book
Review: The layout could have been slightly better and more organized. But the content was very interesting. The best part is that if you didn't know you were reading a book about the revolutionary generation there were experiences that mirror todays experiences. The clash of the republicans and federalists almost split our young nation, or the splits on foriegn policies.
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Summary: Ellis brings history to life in Founding Brothers
Review: Joseph J. Ellis has done a marvelous job with his witty and suspenseful account of the United States' Revolutionary Era. By focusing on key players -- namely Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, Monroe, and Burr -- Ellis takes the reader deeper into the period than any history book does. By focusing on the relationships between these founders, Ellis eloquently illustrates how the nation's parties developed during these formative years. Intermixed with tales of deception (Think Burr killing Hamilton), friendship awry (Jefferson v. Adams, Adams v. Jefferson), and morality in question (slavery), one finishes Founding Brothers with a deeper understanding of the true human being within each of these often larger-than-life historic figures.
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Summary: What an great read!
Review: I can't believe the tales of "dull, fell asleep, etc." from some reviewers. I just read it and breezed through it. Certainly if your idea of great reading is Danielle Steel this is not for you. But anyone with an interest in history will find fascinating the details and insights into events at a time that has been heavily edited for posterity.
We take it so much for granted that this country exists, it seems inevitable to us now that the revolution should have succeeded. Ellis shows just how narrow the tightrope was that was being walked by the colonial representatives who created this country. It was so much easier to come together in crisis than to STAY united when the crisis was over, and the harder work of governing had to be done. Factions with radically different agendas were forced to confront their differences, differences so great they called each other traitors to the revolution. By seeing more clearly into our own past it becomes more understandable why recently established democracies have so much trouble sustaining democratic governments.
I found the detail and insight into personalities and contemporary events in the early republic both entertaining and instructive. It's apparent that Ellis prefers John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, but let's face it, there weren't any lies in this book-- Thomas J. is one of the most enigmatic and contradictory figures in U.S. history. It was interesting to see him through someone's eyes who DOESN'T think the world rose and set in TJ. To me, it didn't feel like Ellis was libeling Jefferson, just that we were seeing him warts and all.
All in all a great read which I recommend to anyone interested in US history.
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Summary: Great book for someone with an interest in US history
Review: This book really opened my eyes to chapters in American history that I had long ago forgotten. It really brings some of the revolutionary era Americans to life. I particularly enjoyed the stories of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. This book is broken down into approximately eight different chapters, each one devoted to a particular aspect of the life of one of the revolutionary brothers. This book is a great book for someone who has an interest in American history or American politics but doesn't have the time or interest to invest on one of the larger books on the market. It really brings the revolutionary era to life. I gave my copy to a friend who still talks about how great it is. I bought another copy for my father for Christmas.
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Summary: Easy history
Review: This book takes things we know of and puts them into context by telling the actually story instead of just names and dates. Very readable.
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