Integrating all aspects of life, from politics and law to the economy and culture, "Empire of Liberty" offers a marvelous account of this pivotal e...
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Nov 18, 2011
Thomas
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A lot of us think we know about our founding fathers and what they planned for America. But did you know that a lot of our founding fathers intended for the US to be a monarchy? That the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans despised each other so much that it makes the political parties of today look like a love-fest? That the Washington administration built a very strong federal government that taxed and spent their way to a prosperous nation? That our founding fathers had very little interes
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Jul 29, 2011
I took a course with Gordon WOod in college, and then promptly forgot about him--never to take another history course again, if the truth be told. But this year I decided that perhaps it was time to take a vig plunge into the world of non-fiction. It has been literally decades since I was in college, and perhaps it is time to attack learning new things with a renewed vigor. Or at least to read a couple dozen non-fiction books this year. I am well on my way to achieving that goal, and this bo
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Mar 20, 2011
So far - a fabulous read.
Product Description:
The Oxford History of the United States is by far the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, two New York Times bestsellers, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. Now, in the newest volume in the series, one of America's most esteemed historians, Gordon S. Wood, offers a brilliant account of the early American Republic, ranging from 1789 and the beginning of the na More...
Product Description:
The Oxford History of the United States is by far the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, two New York Times bestsellers, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. Now, in the newest volume in the series, one of America's most esteemed historians, Gordon S. Wood, offers a brilliant account of the early American Republic, ranging from 1789 and the beginning of the na More...
May 23, 2010
James
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This book is the capstone of Gordon S. Wood's long career, and an outstanding addition to the Oxford History of the United States.
Wood surveys the history of the U. S. from the adoption of the Constitution through the close of the War of 1812, a time during which the survival of the new nation was by no means a sure thing. As he describes, this was a time of enormous political, social, cultural and economic change, and it's safe to say that things did not turn out the way that many More...
Wood surveys the history of the U. S. from the adoption of the Constitution through the close of the War of 1812, a time during which the survival of the new nation was by no means a sure thing. As he describes, this was a time of enormous political, social, cultural and economic change, and it's safe to say that things did not turn out the way that many More...
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May 11, 2010
Christopher
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Empire of Liberty is a gripping narrative on the first 25+ years of the United States of America, the story of how the founding fathers started the nation, how the country saw itself, and how the nation was defined through constant- sometimes suffocating -contradictions.
The book begins with George Washington contemplating the Presidency and how the states contemplated giving up true Independence for interdependency; how being a state subject to a Federal Government chaffed them. As t More...
The book begins with George Washington contemplating the Presidency and how the states contemplated giving up true Independence for interdependency; how being a state subject to a Federal Government chaffed them. As t More...
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Nov 23, 2011
Michael
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Stellar overview of American politics & society in the first 40 years of the USA. If you've read Wood's 'Radicalism of the American Revolution' you know he marries a masterful grasp of the early Republic with a fluid and entertaining style. This (much bigger) book takes up similar themes, with chapters on science, religion, commerce, etc.
I picked this up to help me understand something that's never been especially clear to me - how the US had become "democratic" not more More...
I picked this up to help me understand something that's never been especially clear to me - how the US had become "democratic" not more More...
Nov 07, 2011
Bryn
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From the Constitution's eventual ratification to the aftermath of the War of 1812, this is an epic history of the U.S. The author, Dr. Gordon S. Wood is a respected historian and professor who is a very acomplished writer of early American history and this is no exception. At 738 pages (paperback)this is a balanced to "center-left" history book, which is a little different than what I am used to but it was well done. He is definitely a pro-Jeffersonian Republican who were opposed to th
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Nov 20, 2009
David
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 21, 2010
Paul
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So many history books are just summations of political and military events between two fixed dates. Empire of Liberty goes far beyond that structure, going as far back as the early 1700s and all the way up to the Mexican and Civil Wars to put points and stories into full context. Not just wars and politics, but economics, commerce, religion, education, family life, social changes, slavery, diplomacy, westward expansion, science, philosophy, it’s all in there. Much like the other Wood book I rece
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Mar 27, 2010
Jeff
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Gordon Wood has been working on this book for over 20 years and it shows. The sheer amount of insight, analysis and historical detail is spectacular. Every paragraph has a point. Every word counts.
I went to a round-table discussion recently where ten judges and ten lawyers (I am one of the latter) met with Gordon Wood. Wood was down-to-earth and funny.
A judge asked Wood how he was able to accomplish writing such a prodigious book. It seemed impossible to do.
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I went to a round-table discussion recently where ten judges and ten lawyers (I am one of the latter) met with Gordon Wood. Wood was down-to-earth and funny.
A judge asked Wood how he was able to accomplish writing such a prodigious book. It seemed impossible to do.
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Nov 03, 2011
James
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I am in love with the Oxford US history series. This one and the next are long, cover basically everything, and are pretty well paced considering how complete they are attempting to be. If, like me, your understanding of US history between the Constitutional Convention and the War of 1812 is "something something XYZ affair something" then this will get you caught right up. My personal takeaways are mostly about how tenuous the early republic was: all worried about a return to monarchy,
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Jul 23, 2011
Dave
rated it:
I'm not sure how one person keeps this much knowledge in his or her brain. Now that I've finished, I feel like I've forgotten half of this book. I doubt it's the same for Wood.
Empire of Liberty is the third volume of the Oxford History of the United States that I've read, along with Middlekauff's Revolutionary War tome and Howe's brilliant telling of America from 1815-1848. Howe's is still my favorite, but Empire of Liberty is thorough, critical, and high-level enough to give a sens More...
Empire of Liberty is the third volume of the Oxford History of the United States that I've read, along with Middlekauff's Revolutionary War tome and Howe's brilliant telling of America from 1815-1848. Howe's is still my favorite, but Empire of Liberty is thorough, critical, and high-level enough to give a sens More...
Aug 10, 2011
John
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I learned a LOT, this was a very interesting listen (an over 30 hour audiobook). One thing it showed me is a lot never changed, the struggle between the elites in favor of big government vs. those with more libertarian leanings was just as fierce at our founding as it is now. The book seemed unbias, balanced and well written. I was very pleased. Empire of liberty covers the period of time between Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Monroe and I must say I was pretty ignorant about a lot that happen
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Jul 28, 2010
Paul
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Fascinating account of an often-overlooked by crucial era (1789-1815) in American history. Wood does a great job of interweaving politics, socio-cultural change, and the personal stories of some of the key--and not-so-key--individuals who both reflected and shaped the times. I came away from this book with a much better understanding of how it is that we've become the country that we are. A little more editing would have brought it up to five stars--Wood has a penchant for statistics that at tim
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Jan 08, 2012
Brian
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Empire of Liberty traces the roots of the early years of the United States examining the constitutional convention and its implementation through the end of the War of 1812 where the United States became united and not a collection of colonies. Wood covers one of the most tumultuous times in the history of the United States as institutions were tested, developed and reformed from the framework the founders had set out. John Marshall's definition of the court, George Washington's defining of the
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Dec 26, 2011
Edward
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How can an "empire", with its connotation of control by an "emperor" at the top and “liberty” with its suggestion of freedoms enjoyed by individuals at the bottom co-exist? They can't, or at least not easily, and that's the paradox explored by this history of our republic's first 25 years. There are fault lines that develop in these years as divisive and troublesome today as they were then. They emerge in nineteen chapters which interweave discussions about individuals
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May 04, 2011
Jason
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(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
It's hard to beat Oxford University Press when it comes to authoritative yet lively looks at highly detailed periods in history; and here's their latest in their modern series about the history of America, written by former Pulitzer winner Gordon S. Wood and in this case covering just the years 1 More...
It's hard to beat Oxford University Press when it comes to authoritative yet lively looks at highly detailed periods in history; and here's their latest in their modern series about the history of America, written by former Pulitzer winner Gordon S. Wood and in this case covering just the years 1 More...
Oct 12, 2010
Matt
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I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Even though the author was slightly biased towards Republicanism and very biased towards Jefferson vs the Federalist founding fathers (all you need to do is compare the adjectives he uses for Jefferson vs Washington, Adams or Hamilton), I felt that he did an excellent job of comparing the positive and negative aspects of the two dominant politcal ideologies of the era (e.g. the economic and political stability of Federalism vs. populist anarchy of Jeffersonian Rep
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Apr 28, 2010
Jim
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Excellent overview of the culture and times of the early Republic. For me, this book provoked a lot of re-thinking about the nature of the American Revolution. Previously, i had thought of it less as a revolution, and more in the Jacques Barzun formulation, as a continuation of the evolutionary politics of Whiggish Britain. I'm not entirely sure Barzun was wrong, but Wood makes an excellent case for the radicalism of the Founding, particularly after Jefferson and the Republicans ascended in
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Oct 14, 2010
Matt
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Back when I was in college, I majored in finance and minored in girls. I graduated magna cum laude in one, and failed brilliantly in the other. At one point, trying to change my luck with the coeds, I decided to pursue the hipster lifestyle. Since it was relatively cheap to grow out my hair and act indifferent, I figured this was the best way to get girls, other than being forthright and honest and asking them on dates. Part of being a hipster is progressiveness: you dream of the Peace Corps, si
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May 16, 2010
Brad
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Whew. Took me long enough to get through this 750 page epic. But well worth it. Woods’ exemplary analysis into the politics and culture of the beginning of America is, in a most welcome way, reassuring: the partisanship, the rhetoric, the heated debates on the roll of government taking place in the Founding generation are all so applicable to today’s political climate that it is almost unsettling. I mean, I guess on the one hand it might be taken to illustrate how ignorant of their history that
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Feb 15, 2010
Emily
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Wow. So I can definitly put this one down as my "accomplishment" book of the year. At 700 pages plus, with an awkward trim size that made it difficult to tote around with me, nevermind hold in my hands, this book was a challenge, though one that I am glad I undertook. I would pretty much recommend this only to super history geeks, as it was dense. I would compare it to a textbook really--as its extremly well organized and researched look on the United States post-Revolutionary War, s
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Mar 30, 2010
Patrick
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I just recently finished Gordon Wood's "Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815," by Oxford University Press. This is volume 2 in the Oxford History of the United States, of which I have read already "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789," which was an excellent book. Wood's books is also excellent.
I have seen some reviews by readers that fault the book for is focus on leaders and a few historically remembered people a More...
I have seen some reviews by readers that fault the book for is focus on leaders and a few historically remembered people a More...
Aug 02, 2010
Paul
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Fscinating account with Wood's natural tendency to add the social history of how the revolution slowly changed the political and social status of minorities including women, and African-Americans. I learned what I didn't know too much about:The Treaty of Greenville (1795) and how that affected the subsequent territorial population and American/British diplomacy.If you like a lot of detail and have read some of Professor Wood's books before, this will be a great read.
Mar 25, 2011
I despise adding books to my "unfinished" shelf but here is another one. Rather than reading, I have been listening to this book utilizing my Audible subscription.
Reading this whilst driving to work = falling asleep at the wheel. I want so badly to be able to get into this book but it is just not happening. Something in me compels me to feel I must read colonial American history but every time I do so I have a hard time finishing the book.
Boo...
Reading this whilst driving to work = falling asleep at the wheel. I want so badly to be able to get into this book but it is just not happening. Something in me compels me to feel I must read colonial American history but every time I do so I have a hard time finishing the book.
Boo...
Jul 28, 2010
John
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It is again a delight to read Wood. His economical style is pleasing to the eye. But as he does in other of his works, he beats a dead horse about halfway through the text. We understand his revolutionary point and that the Republicans ushered in an America of an entirely different color and hue than the Founders had envisioned, save Jefferson and his convert sidekick Madison. Without a doubt it is an important read and is at its best when Wood marries his prose to pertinent and fascinating deta
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Mar 01, 2011
This is a book that all Tea Partyers ought to read before they say another word about the constitution. Every time one of them opens their mouth and starts saying they want to return to the constitution and its' purity and give more power to the states I wonder if they have even read the constitution,.
I'm still reading this book. Just read about the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Putting these events in their context is fascinating.
I'm still reading this book. Just read about the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Putting these events in their context is fascinating.
Feb 03, 2010
Andy
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fabulous and very approachable history. Particularly interesting with so much talk of the founding fathers in the current public discourse. Many of the folks that like to refer to the founding fathers as a monolithic source for all that is good about our republic just don't get it.
Apr 09, 2011
Oleksiy
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Not being a US national, not even a native English speaker, I can definitely tell that Wood's book filled in the gap in my knowledge of the period. Wood's eloquent language together with a masterful interpretation style deserve the highest marks of praise.
Feb 15, 2010
Nathan
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Gordon Wood, as usual, turns out a history of the people, for the people: an account of characters in power that never neglects their personal histories, or those of the people under them. The book suffers greatly from the lack of a cohesive thesis, though; too often this is just period reporting ignorant of the larger implications of the events it records. Still, one can easily forgive the "dates and dead people" approach in light of the value of the "rest of the story" tack
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