false 1483 7493 0375705244 9780375705243 422 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165625855m/7493.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165625855s/7493.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7493.Founding_Brothers_The_Revolutionary_Generation 3.88 2993 American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals–Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison–confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for our nation.

The United States was more a fragile hope than a reality in 1790. During the decade that followed, the Founding Fathers–re-examined here as Founding Brothers–combined the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with the content of the Constitution to create the practical workings of our government. Through an analysis of six fascinating episodes–Hamilton and Burr’s deadly duel, Washington’s precedent-setting Farewell Address, Adams’ administration and political partnership with his wife, the debate about where to place the capital, Franklin’s attempt to force Congress to confront the issue of slavery and Madison’s attempts to block him, and Jefferson and Adams’ famous correspondence–Founding Brothers brings to life the vital issues and personalities from the most important decade in our nation’s history.
]]> 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2000 6462 1400032539 9781400032532 337 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165602165m/6462.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165602165s/6462.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6462.His_Excellency_George_Washington 3.86 1715
Here is the impetuous young officer whose miraculous survival in combat half-convinced him that he could not be killed. Here is the free-spending landowner whose debts to English merchants instilled him with a prickly resentment of imperial power. We see the general who lost more battles than he won and the reluctant president who tried to float above the partisan feuding of his cabinet. His Excellency is a magnificent work, indispensable to an understanding not only of its subject but also of the nation he brought into being.]]> 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2004 22680 0679764410 9780679764410 139 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223014141m/22680.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223014141s/22680.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22680.American_Sphinx_The_Character_of_Thomas_Jefferson 3.79 895 American Sphinx is a book whose appeal transcends history buffs and biography fans and provides an essential gloss on the Jeffersonian legacy.]]> 1483 3.87 6640 1143 1997 196717 030726369X 9780307263698 139 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196717.American_Creation_Triumphs_and_Tragedies_in_the_Founding_of_the_Republic 3.88 496 From the prizewinning author of the best-selling Founding Brothers and American Sphinx, a masterly and highly ironic examination of the founding years of our country. The last quarter of the eighteenth century remains the most politically creative era in American history, when a dedicated and determined group of men undertook a bold experiment in political ideals. It was a time of triumphs; yet, as Joseph J. Ellis makes clear, it was also a time of tragedies—all of which contributed to the shaping of our burgeoning nation.

From the first shots fired at Lexington to the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, Ellis guides us through the decisive issues of the nation’s founding, and illuminates the emerging philosophies, shifting alliances, and personal and political foibles of our now iconic leaders—Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Adams. He casts an incisive eye on the founders’ achievements, arguing that the American Revolution was, paradoxically, an evolution—and that part of what made it so extraordinary was the gradual pace at which it occurred. He shows us why the fact that it was brought about by a group, rather than by a single individual, distinguished it from the bloodier revolutions of other countries, and ultimately played a key role in determining its success. He explains how the idea of a strong federal government, championed by Washington, was eventually embraced by the American people, the majority of whom had to be won over, as they feared an absolute power reminiscent of the British Empire. And he details the emergence of the two-party system—then a political novelty—which today stands as the founders’ most enduring legacy.

But Ellis is equally incisive about their failures, and he makes clear how their inability to abolish slavery and to reach a just settlement with the Native Americans has played an equally important role in shaping our national character. He demonstrates how these misjudgments, now so abundantly evident, were not necessarily inevitable. We learn of the negotiations between Henry Knox and Alexander McGillivray, the most talented Indian statesman of his time, which began in good faith and ended in disaster. And we come to understand how a political solution to slavery required the kind of robust federal power that the Jeffersonians viewed as a betrayal of their most deeply held principles.

With eloquence and insight, Ellis strips the mythic veneer of the revolutionary generation to reveal men both human and inspired, possessed of both brilliance and blindness. American Creation is a book that delineates an era of flawed greatness, at a time when understanding our origins is more important than ever.

]]> 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2007 2209 0393311333 9780393311334 12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1160801889m/2209.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1160801889s/2209.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2209.Passionate_Sage_The_Character_and_Legacy_of_John_Adams 4.11 87 Founding Brothers. "The most lovable and most laughable, the warmest and possibly the wisest of the founding fathers, John Adams knew himself as few men do and preserved his knowledge in a voluminous correspondence that still resonates. Ellis has used it with great skill and perception not only to bring us the man, warts and all, but more importantly to reveal his extraordinary insights into the problems confronting the founders that resonate today in the republic they created."151;Edmund S. Morgan, Sterling Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University. ]]> 1483 3.87 6640 1143 1993 36056 0393322335 9780393322330 6 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168679425m/36056.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168679425s/36056.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36056.After_the_Revolution_Profiles_of_Early_American_Culture 3.61 28 1483 3.87 6640 1143 1981 2168898 0760750114 9780760750117 4 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2168898.Patriots_Brotherhood_of_the_American_Revolution 4.50 12 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2004 190557 0312190638 9780312190637 0 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172552377m/190557.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172552377s/190557.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/190557.What_Did_the_Declaration_Declare_ 3.25 8 1483 3.87 6640 1143 1999 2168903 0312455240 9780312455248 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2168903.What_Caused_the_Pueblo_Revolt_of_1860_What_Did_the_Declaration_Declare_When_Did_American_Slavery_Begin_Pocket_Guide_to_Writing_in_History_4e 0.0 0 188849 3.53 30 4 1483 3.87 6640 1143 5915 3.39 31 3 1999 6283292 2 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6283292.Founding_Brothers 4.00 4 1483 3.87 6640 1143 6203291 0641974477 9780641974472 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6203291.His_Excellency_George_Washington 4.00 1 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2008 6143886 075675495X 9780756754952 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6143886.Thomas_Jefferson_Genius_of_Liberty 0.0 0 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2000 36057 0300016158 9780300016154 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36057.The_New_England_Mind_in_Transition 0.0 0 1483 3.87 6640 1143 1973 7047707 1400077680 9781400077687 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7047707-founding-brothers 0.0 0 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2003 7061800 140004376X 9781400043767 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7061800-his-excellency 0.0 0 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2004 923502 0195018435 9780195018431 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/923502.School_for_Soldiers_West_Point_and_the_Profession_of_Arms 0.0 0 1483 3.87 6640 1143 52771 3.97 124 22 1974 7043141 0375727469 9780375727467 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7043141-american-sphinx 0.0 0 1483 3.87 6640 1143 1998 794612 0312472358 9780312472351 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/794612.William_Lloyd_Garrison_and_the_Fight_Against_Slavery_What_Did_the_Declaration_Declare_Welfare_Reform_in_the_Early_Republic 0.0 0 102464 3.12 8 2 1483 3.87 6640 1143 2006 2168900 0312402562 9780312402563 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2168900.America_A_Concise_History_2e_Volume_1_and_How_Did_American_Slavery_Begin_and_What_Did_the_Declaration_Declare_and_Does_the_Frontier_Experience_Make_America_Exceptional_ 0.0 0 9310 3.78 32 5 1483 3.87 6640 1143 5915 3.39 31 3 2001 2204046 0935847030 9780935847031 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2204046.Sis_Chris_the_Knowbots_in_We_Don_t_Need_Drugs_to_Be_O_K_An_Educational_Coloring_Book 0.0 0 984666 0.0 0 0 1483 3.87 6640 1143 1987 2168897 0312257422 9780312257422 0 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2168897.Envisioning_America_and_What_Did_the_Declaration_Declare_ 0.0 0 28890 3.53 32 6 1483 3.87 6640 1143 1999