In this brilliantly illuminating group portrait of the men who came to be known as the Founding Fathers, the incomparable Gordon Wood has written a...
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Feb 16, 2011
Bird Brian
rated it: 
Originally, I was going to do this review like little biopic blurbs and stats about the each Founder. Kind of like baseball cards used to be. Nowadays, I guess it would be more like:
FOUNDING FATHERS VERSION
(collect them all!!!!)
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Superpowers:
-Integrity: turned down a kingship
-Star Power: the only man both Federalists and Republicans wanted as President
Vulnerabilities:
-Less worldly than most: never More...
FOUNDING FATHERS VERSION
(collect them all!!!!)
GEORGE WASHINGTON
Superpowers:
-Integrity: turned down a kingship
-Star Power: the only man both Federalists and Republicans wanted as President
Vulnerabilities:
-Less worldly than most: never More...
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Dec 15, 2008
Jim
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An excellent book that looks at the characters of the American Revolution & what made them different. The book assumes a working knowledge of the time period since it focuses on eight men & what their motivations were. Extensively documented, other readings are suggested as needed. His basic premise is that these men were revolutionaries that fought themselves out of a job. If he has a political axe to grind, he kept it out of his writing as far as I could tell, which I appreciated, especia
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Mar 01, 2009
Jon
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I enjoyed listening to these essays during my daily commute. I learned many things about my American history and heritage. It also inspired me to read some of Thomas Paine's works. I think I have also found a way to get more non-fiction into my reading diet. It's definitely more enjoyable to listen to and focus on via an audiobook then overcoming the stigma of reading what amounts to a textbook.
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Jan 05, 2008
Ryan
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Revolutionary Characters was a fun, easy to read book, that brought to life the characters of the American Revolution.
A common lament since the days of the founding fathers has been ¨Where have such leaders gone?¨ This book argues that these men were the product of a unique period of history, and a unique set of ambitions. For the most part, they truly tried to serve ¨the greater good¨ rather than their own self interest - not because they were of better moral fiber, but because tha More...
A common lament since the days of the founding fathers has been ¨Where have such leaders gone?¨ This book argues that these men were the product of a unique period of history, and a unique set of ambitions. For the most part, they truly tried to serve ¨the greater good¨ rather than their own self interest - not because they were of better moral fiber, but because tha More...
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Jun 21, 2007
Jonelle
rated it: 
Some of the poli-sci jargon was over my head, but I am glad I read this book.
After reading it, though, I am amazed that America has become what we are today--and that it took only 'four score and seven years' before we erupted into Civil War! --the Founders were as different and at times cantakerous as our modern day politicians and talking heads!
With that said, though, these were some pretty amazing men--one thing that was really interesting, for the Enlightenmnet period--on More...
After reading it, though, I am amazed that America has become what we are today--and that it took only 'four score and seven years' before we erupted into Civil War! --the Founders were as different and at times cantakerous as our modern day politicians and talking heads!
With that said, though, these were some pretty amazing men--one thing that was really interesting, for the Enlightenmnet period--on More...
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Sep 19, 2011
Wells
rated it:
I particularly enjoyed Wood's take on Aaron Burr's true treason. Wood suggests Burr was the one member of the revolutionary fraternity that failed to place his own selfish interests behind those of his nascent country and thus nearly destroyed the whole experiment. Burr comes across as a man out of place, as one who has more in common with current political players than with his disinterested fellow revolutionaries.
I also find it interesting that Wood does not shy away from discounting More...
I also find it interesting that Wood does not shy away from discounting More...
Nov 30, 2010
Mariah
rated it: 
I read Revolutionary Characters: What made the Founders Different. The author is Gordon S. Wood. Genre of the book is nonfiction and the subject matter is about the different political struggles to make America what it is today. It talks about the eight specific men who were apart of the revolutionaries. Intended audience is for open minded and intellectual people who want to learn about this country. Anyone can read this because it's important. It affected me by being able to be informed a
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Jun 22, 2009
Steven
rated it:
Gordon Wood is a well reputed historian. Here, he examines some of the more important (and interesting) of the Founders and those interacting with them. Wood's main point is that character was a matter of great importance for the leaders of the new government. When those with great potential--such as Aaron Burr--raised questions about their own character, it led people to doubt them.
The opening chapter of the book places this volume in context. Wood discusses the context in which th More...
The opening chapter of the book places this volume in context. Wood discusses the context in which th More...
Jul 29, 2011
Ok, I read this after reading 'Empire of Liberty', and it is not nearly as well wiriten as that book, nor does the story flow as well. The strongest chapter, for me, was the one on Benjamin Franklin, followed by the one on James Madison--the book is aobut the heavy hitters of the Revolutionary time, and I have read quite a few books set in this time period lately, including othe biography of Franklin. I think this one summarizes what happened to flip Franklin, and he turned his formidable pass
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Apr 17, 2009
Tony
rated it:
Gordon S. Wood is Professor of History at Brown University. He received the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History for The Radicalism of the American Revolution and the 1970 Bancroft Prize for The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787.
Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different is a series of essays covering each of eight different founding fathers: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Adams, Thomas Paine, and More...
Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different is a series of essays covering each of eight different founding fathers: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Adams, Thomas Paine, and More...
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Jan 14, 2012
Mike
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This is another popular look at the Founding Fathers. This book is a collection of essays written by the famous author, Gordon Wood, each a short biographical sketch. There are many interesting insights and I think this book is a great start for anyone to read about the great characters of the period. There is also enough information here that any student of history would enjoy the read.
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Aug 10, 2011
Jonathan
rated it:
Where to begin... oh yes, this novel (textbook really) was an absolute bore. And yes, I understand that this novel depicts the great founders of America and is bound to drag on at times, but reading over 250 pages of absolute mundane, prosaic prose was complete torture for a high school student such as myself. Look, maybe the circumstances and other factors contributed to my complete loathing of this novel. Circumstances such as it being summer and being an ASSIGNMENT, oh yeah, it was over summe
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Mar 06, 2011
Blanche
rated it:
I am a lover of history; however, I found that when studying it, I was never particularly interested in going past the Renaissance period. Because of this bias towards older histories, my knowledge of the American Revolutionary period has not been updated since AP American History class in 11th grade.
This book was an excellent choice to ignite an interest in this period in history. Professor Wood (a Brown professor, thank you very much!) is meticulous in his research; his vivid ima More...
This book was an excellent choice to ignite an interest in this period in history. Professor Wood (a Brown professor, thank you very much!) is meticulous in his research; his vivid ima More...
Dec 25, 2008
Nicole
rated it:
Add this book to the growing list of biographies and overviews of America's founding fathers. The focus of this book is the culture of the late 18th century; its similarities and differences from today.
For instance, Washington was treated as if he were a king because the new republic had no other example as a model. And Washington knew his every public move set precedence; but this made him hard to get to know, then and now.
Jefferson was brilliant but we still don't understand how he More...
For instance, Washington was treated as if he were a king because the new republic had no other example as a model. And Washington knew his every public move set precedence; but this made him hard to get to know, then and now.
Jefferson was brilliant but we still don't understand how he More...
Aug 07, 2011
Simultaneously historiography, biography, intellectual history, and armchair sociology of 18th century America. By contextualizing the United States' revolutionary figures in their social and intellectual milieu, Wood dispels mythology in favor of accuracy with none of the iconoclast's self-righteousness, nor with any apparent contemporary political axe to grind. Wood convincingly shows how the democratic fallout of the American revolution made great "gentlemen" such as the Founders
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Apr 24, 2009
Paul
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As mass interest in the Founding Fathers has recently picked up, tons of books on these men have been popping up all over the place. This is one of the better ones. Divided into chapters on each Founding Father that is profiled, this book takes a look at what made these men unique and special, both in their time and in ours. While the author assumes a basic knowledge of the Revolution and who men like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Paine, Franklin, Hamilton, and Burr were, he writes i
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Apr 13, 2011
J
rated it:
This is a great concise overview on key founding fathers and their importance. The book covers Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Thomas Paine and Aaron Burr.
It was very important of these characters to be perceived as a gentleman and only they could be trusted to be an impartial politician. You had to be disinterested to gain respect in those days, which is so unlike today. This evidently got Aaron Burr in trouble with the establishment, since he was peddl More...
It was very important of these characters to be perceived as a gentleman and only they could be trusted to be an impartial politician. You had to be disinterested to gain respect in those days, which is so unlike today. This evidently got Aaron Burr in trouble with the establishment, since he was peddl More...
Jul 22, 2010
Curtis
rated it:
After reading several books about the Revolutionary period, I doubted whether this book would be able to offer anything new, especially considering its size when compaired to Gordon Wood's other massive tomes on the subject. However I was thoroughly surprised when I discovered that the author lived up to his name and delivered a fascinating new take on the founders. While the stories he tells about them were familar, his interpretations of events, their causes and results, and their effects on
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Nov 01, 2009
Evan
rated it:
Found this while looking for something else and forgot I had it.
About halfway way through this series of profiles of the major founders which were published separately and have now been put together in this easily readable collection.
OK, so just wrote a whole goddamn review of this and lost it, so I won't be writing it again, especially seeing as I don't think there is anyone else on this list likely to read this book.
OK, I'm over it now. Damn annoying though.
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About halfway way through this series of profiles of the major founders which were published separately and have now been put together in this easily readable collection.
OK, so just wrote a whole goddamn review of this and lost it, so I won't be writing it again, especially seeing as I don't think there is anyone else on this list likely to read this book.
OK, I'm over it now. Damn annoying though.
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Aug 09, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
This was required summer reading for my son's history class, and well, it was laying around the house and I was curious. I must say, it's been a while since I have read anything this academic and erudite. I read non-fiction, but usually it's written by journalists or someone looking to make it very reader-friendly. I guess Pulitzer winning authors are less concerned about such things. While the founders were revolutionary, they were very aristocratic in their behavior. But rather than having tha
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Feb 05, 2009
Distinguished Brown University historian Gordon S. Wood has examined Revolutionary politics in The Creation of the American Republic (Bancroft Prize, 1970) and The Radicalism of the American Revolution (Pulitzer Prize, 1993). Collected from writing he did for the New York Review of Books and the New Republic, this latest compilation covers the same turf, but, as his title suggests, Wood emphasizes the moral and philosophical underpinnings of the founding fathers' beliefs. Reviewers concur with
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Dec 13, 2009
William Thomas
rated it:
what seemed to me to be more of a retort to gore vidal's book of the same kind, and in by far a more academic endeavor than gore's, this book comes off without bias, detailing in a short and direct way, the personal lives and intimacies of the founding fathers. bravo to gordon wood for including Thomas Payne in this book as a father of America, as well as to his detailing the individual mindset, theories, philosophies, mannerisms and quirks of each of the different men, showing us that they were
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Feb 24, 2011
Karl
rated it:
An excellent work. First of all, this is not a history book; it is a collection of essays on leading individual within a specific historical period. It assumes a great deal of knowledge about the revolutionary period, and uses that to illustrate just who the Founders truly were and what led to and illustrated best their character. It avoids the temptation to apply contemporary values to entirely different eras and thereby is able to capture a much more fascinating picture.
Definitely re More...
Definitely re More...
Jun 18, 2008
Dru
rated it:
This is a collection of essays, each examining the character and quirk of a different founding father in the order of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, Adams, Thomas Paine, and Aaron Burr.
I would have given five stars to the first four chapters of this book. Unfortunately, once I hit James Madison, the book became slow and repetitive. It has been pointed out that the essays were perhaps meant to be read individually and casually--maybe this is the case.
But in the More...
I would have given five stars to the first four chapters of this book. Unfortunately, once I hit James Madison, the book became slow and repetitive. It has been pointed out that the essays were perhaps meant to be read individually and casually--maybe this is the case.
But in the More...
May 25, 2010
Jocelin
rated it:
This was a very fascinating biography on the founders of our nation. I really enjoyed the chapter on George Washington. The information that was presented about him was something that I was not aware of in the past. I am glad that the author chose to encompass the entire life of the founders instead of just focusing on one area. He presented each of the men as just that, men. They were not perfect, divine or overtly horrible. They were flawed and imperfect, but they were leaders and forgers of o
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Jun 09, 2008
Kristy
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Some of the founders this book included are Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, John Adams, and Paine. The tendancy of some today is to try and paint these men as villains, as evil men. This book was refreshing because it didnt try to tear them down, nor did it try to white-wash their flaws. One thought I liked: "Beneath all the images, beneath all the allegorical Jeffersons, there once was a human being with every human frailty and foible. Certainly Jefferson's words an
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Dec 05, 2010
David
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I first read Gordon S. Wood back in 1992, a book which won a couple of prizes -- Pulitzer and Emerson -- called The Radicalism of the American Revolution. I loved that book, and I refer to it often whenever the topic of conversation is about our founding fathers.
This book was in the bargain bin at Barnes & Noble, but I enjoyed it nearly as much as the other. --From A Reader's Journal, by d r melbie.
This book was in the bargain bin at Barnes & Noble, but I enjoyed it nearly as much as the other. --From A Reader's Journal, by d r melbie.
Oct 05, 2008
Will
rated it:
Gordon offers a chapter each to a slew of household names from the time of the Revolution. It is like getting to read a very well-informed mini-biography on each. One thing I found was that the turmoil of the post revolutionary period left me in a bit of a daze. There was not only considerable diversity among the founders in terms of their macro views (if not their gender or ethnicity) and when this is combined with the rapid and significant changes the foundling nation was undergoing, it makes
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Jan 13, 2012
Gary
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This book has chapters on the character of revolutionary figures of Madison, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Paine, Adams, Burr and Hamilton. I think the intent of the book is clear: What makes them different from each other. It is about the character of these individuals.
I plan to also read Ellis' Founding Brothers, and Berkins' A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution.
Wood's book is written in a very accesible style.
I plan to also read Ellis' Founding Brothers, and Berkins' A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution.
Wood's book is written in a very accesible style.
Jul 26, 2011
Ronald
rated it:
Another Gordon Wood success. I've read everything he's published. This one excels at exploding certain myths and/or out-dated views about our founding fathers. Not for beginners though. It's more helpful if you've already read at least one single-volume biography of each of these men first. The last chapter on the evolution of the meaning of "public opinion" is particularly interesting.
