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Binding: Audio CDDewey Decimal Number: 973 EAN: 9781402505393 Edition: Unabridged Format: Unabridged ISBN: 1402505396 Label: Recorded Books Manufacturer: Recorded Books Number Of Items: 12 Number Of Pages: 5 Publication Date: 2001-04 Publisher: Recorded Books Studio: Recorded Books Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: In retrospect, it seems as if the American Revolution was inevitable. But was it? In Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis reveals that many of those truths we hold to be self-evident were actually fiercely contested in the early days of the republic. Ellis focuses on six crucial moments in the life of the new nation, including a secret dinner at which the seat of the nation's capital was determined--in exchange for support of Hamilton's financial plan; Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address; and the Hamilton and Burr duel. Most interesting, perhaps, is the debate (still dividing scholars today) over the meaning of the Revolution. In a fascinating chapter on the renewed friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson at the end of their lives, Ellis points out the fundamental differences between the Republicans, who saw the Revolution as a liberating act and hold the Declaration of Independence most sacred, and the Federalists, who saw the revolution as a step in the building of American nationhood and hold the Constitution most dear. Throughout the text, Ellis explains the personal, face-to-face nature of early American politics--and notes that the members of the revolutionary generation were conscious of the fact that they were establishing precedents on which future generations would rely. In Founding Brothers, Ellis (whose American Sphinx won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 1997) has written an elegant and engaging narrative, sure to become a classic. Highly recommended. --Sunny Delaney Product Description: An illuminating study of the intertwined lives of the founders of the American republic--John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington. During the 1790s, which Ellis calls the most decisive decade in our nation's history, the greatest statesmen of their generation--and perhaps any--came together to define the new republic and direct its course for the coming centuries. Ellis focuses on six discrete moments that exemplify the most crucial issues facing the fragile new nation: Burr and Hamilton's deadly duel, and what may have really happened; Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison's secret dinner, during which the seat of the permanent capital was determined in exchange for passage of Hamilton's financial plan; Franklin's petition to end the "peculiar institution" of slavery--his last public act--and Madison's efforts to quash it; Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address, announcing his retirement from public office and offering his country some final advice; Adams's difficult term as Washington's successor and his alleged scheme to pass the presidency on to his son; and finally, Adams and Jefferson's renewed correspondence at the end of their lives, in which they compared their different views of the Revolution and its legacy. In a lively and engaging narrative, Ellis recounts the sometimes collaborative, sometimes archly antagonistic interactions between these men, and shows us the private characters behind the public personas: Adams, the ever-combative iconoclast, whose closest political collaborator was his wife, Abigail; Burr, crafty, smooth, and one of the most despised public figures of his time; Hamilton, whose audacious manner and deep economic savvy masked his humble origins; Jefferson, renowned for his eloquence, but so reclusive and taciturn that he rarely spoke more than a few sentences in public; Madison, small, sickly, and paralyzingly shy, yet one of the most effective debaters of his generation; and the stiffly formal Washington, the ultimate realist, larger-than-life, and America's only truly indispensable figure. Ellis argues that the checks and balances that permitted the infant American republic to endure were not primarily legal, constitutional, or institutional, but intensely personal, rooted in the dynamic interaction of leaders with quite different visions and values. Revisiting the old-fashioned idea that character matters, Founding Brothers informs our understanding of American politics--then and now--and gives us a new perspective on the unpredictable forces that shape history. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Sibling RivalryIt looked a lot prettier in those Gilbert Stuart and John Trumbull paintings. If there's an overall theme to Joseph Ellis's 2000 book "Founding Brothers", it's that the United States was tempered as much by internal conflict as by war with Great Britain. Ellis's approach deals with the aftermath of the American Revolution, post-Constitution, in six drawn-out narratives exploring various facets of the often-feuding Founding Fathers had. He begins with the most famous and deadly of them, ... Read More Rating:  - Really there was no syllabus to follow!Joseph Ellis has written another book which is completely different than all his other historical efforts. He has taken a rather different look at America in its infancy. In this effort, Ellis focus is on a half a dozen political personages. The six people in this study are John Adams, George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. This rather eclectic group helped to form the precedents and the very foundation of our government. Read More Rating: - GLAD I FOUND THESE BROTHERSI followed McCullough's 1776 and John Adams to Joseph Ellis' remarkable compilation of stories centered around the exploits of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Burr, Hamilton and Madison. The political intrigue, posturing, and backstabbing that takes place in these stories is rendered more fascinating in that it takes place in the shadow of America's newly won independence. The traits displayed in these stories compliment the sheer genius of these men, and leave the reader with multidimensional founding ... Read More Rating: - it seemed like a good idea at the timeThere is a great tendency to deify the "founding fathers" these days. As if by invoking the phrase "founding fathers", you can gain their approval. Founding Brothers explains very well that the American Revolution didn't happen for us. It happened because the folks who carried it out did it for themselves. Their biggest motivation was the idea that they could get away with it. After that they had to make up the rest as they went along. It was ok: the rewards for succeeding would be the Northwest Territories. ... Read More Rating: - They all hung together, more or less I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of tales about a number of the founding fathers, and their relations with each other. The opening vignette has to do with the Burr- Hamilton duel and in the course of this Ellis tells the personal history of each of the protagonists. I learned more about Burr than I learned in grade school or for that matter graduate- school , and this grandson of Jonathan Edwards was revealed to be a far more competent and two- faced politician than even the traditional stereotype of him as traitor, ... Read More |
