Rating: 
Summary: Required Reading for Everyone
Review: Miracle at Philadelphia - far from being a "young adult" book - is one book which should be on everyone's top ten reading list. The story of what eventually became the Constitutional Convention, although not starting out as such, the book gives unique insight into the men and the minds that framed our Constitution, the first such written document in the world. Along with the Federalist Papers and other selected correspondence between those both in attendance and abroad (such as Adams and Jefferson), Bowen's book gives a clear and concise explanation as to the form of government we enjoy, as well as showing who supported and who opposed the document coming out of the convention.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading
Review: Miracle at Philadelphia is a great book for anyone looking to understand the facts regarding the founding fathers and the Constitutional Convention. Having been told to read this book for class, we expected it to be another boring, wordy book. However, the book turned out to be very informative. It was not a hard read and could easily been read in a relatively short amount of time. The book does not read like typical history books we were used to. It is more of a novel in the sense that it is not just bombarded with facts, but flows like a story should, without missing any details. The book did an excellent job of not only explaining the draft of the Constitution, but also everything that led up to it. By reading this book, we learned many things that were unclear and unknown about the founding fathers and the Constitutional Convention. The author explained in great detail, in such a way that was not boring for the reader. Yet, it still covered all the facts. I recommend this to anyone interesting in learning about early America or someone looking for an interesting book.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book About the Convention
Review: Miracle at Philadelphia is one of the best books I have ever come across concerning the Constitution Convention. It is written for both the scholar and laymen alike. An excellent read!!
Rating:
Summary: The details of our founding fathers' genius
Review: The Constitution was a collaberative effort of disparate interests and at the constitutional convention, it often seemed as though these interests could not possibly be reconciled. Alexander Hamilton, for example proposed an elected monarch. elected for life. Others feared any executive power vested in one person. There were so many issues that were settled by compromise. Nonetheless, there were influential people who opposed the ratification of the Constitution in their state conventions. For example, in Virginia, Patrick Henry was concerned with the vesting of power in the people as opposed to the states and vigorously opposed ratification. The debates were fascinating and this book enjoyably chronicals them. Additionally, this book gives an interesting social history of this period of American history through the eyes of foreign visitors.
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Summary: The Weather was very hot and humid
Review: This book gives a very good accounts of the ins and outs all around the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia from foreign visitors accounts to the inside jokes of Benjamin Franklin. Pretty good, full of enjoyable details and amazingly easy to read for a history book.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing yet matches this book!
Review: This book is honest, intriguing, well written history. Bowen does an excellent job of mixing patriotism with honest history. This book tells the story and lets the reader/student make decisions about how to regard the subject(s). There is no comparison to this book on the Miracle at Philadelphia!
Rating:
Summary: Great and easy read
Review: This book stands out because it is one the most readable books you will find in the history section. It is very clear and you do get a lot of information about the time that representatives from all the states were in Philadelphia during a hot summer to write the Constitution.If you are a highschool student it is therefore very interesting because it gives you a good insight in how this remarkable document came into being. For more advanced readers it is also very interesting, it is especially better than any other book on this subject, it makes the whole process clearer than in a standard history book. It also gives a great explenation of the men who were involved. Through looking at the private documents of the participants she makes the process more human, and therefore more easily understandable.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic and Important Book
Review: This is the story of the formation of our constitutional govenrment. Catherine Drinker Bowen's book is a classic that tells how America's founding fathers debated, compromised and struggled to create a permanent system of rebublican government in a world ruled by monarchs and absolutists. The debates are here, as well as the personalities. The story of how various elements of our governing structure were arrived at is fascinating as well as illuminating to any serious student of the American system. Important debates regarding the nature of the presidency, small state versus large state interests (how we got our Senate), the desirability of direct democracy versus state interests (part of how we got the Electoral College), the finessing of the slave issue -- its all here. I read this book and was filled with a profound sense of pride and amazement at the story of how the "gentlemen of Philadelphia" were able to navigate such complex issues and arrive at the masterpiece that is our Constitution. In Bowen's hands, this moving and patriotic story is well told and thoroughly explored. I imagine many of you reading this review have this book on a political science syllabus, but it should be read by any with an interest in our Constitution or our government's history.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: This story of the Constitional Convention is a delight to read. Aside from the specifics of the Constitution, Ms. Bowen does a superb job of painting a picture of the personalities involved, and more broadly, what life was like in America in the late 18th century. My only criticism is that the book sometimes glosses over the actual drafting of the document. While Ms. Bowen does a fine job of identifying the issues that were discussed, the explanations of how various issues were resolved are at times superficial. Perhaps because I am a lawyer I was looking for more substance than other readers might, but I think at times the desire to talk about the personalities and the times they lived in came at the expense of some of the substance of the Constitutional debate. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and learned quite a lot. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about this critical event in early American history.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: This story of the Constitional Convention is a delight to read. Aside from the specifics of the Constitution, Ms. Bowen does a superb job of painting a picture of the personalities involved, and more broadly, what life was like in America in the late 18th century. My only criticism is that the book sometimes glosses over the actual drafting of the document. While Ms. Bowen does a fine job of identifying the issues that were discussed, the explanations of how various issues were resolved are at times superficial. Perhaps because I am a lawyer I was looking for more substance than other readers might, but I think at times the desire to talk about the personalities and the times they lived in came at the expense of some of the substance of the Constitutional debate. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and learned quite a lot. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about this critical event in early American history.
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