One of the half dozen most important books ever written about the American Revolution.
"New York Times Book Review"
During the nearly two deca...
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Feb 01, 2012
Billy
rated it: 
Bought this for eleven dollars at Powell's on a trip to Portland back in October, and started it soon after; I think it took so long to finish because reading it felt like work, or perhaps homework (although I was a history major at college I'm uncertain whether I read him then in my poor excuse for an American history curriculum*). Or maybe it was the interminable circularity of his points and Zagatian pathology of constructing prose not by synthesizing and summarizing but by hitching quotatio
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Nov 24, 2010
Frank
rated it: 
One of the best books on American government I've ever read.
This was not exactly a school book, but one of my teachers kept recommending it so frequently and so heartily that I had to give it a try, even if its not exactly in my field. He was right. It is just an amazing piece of work.
It's an intellectual history of sorts, except there are practically no individual characters or thinkers. Most of the innumerable quotes come from a barely distinguished mass of newspapers and More...
This was not exactly a school book, but one of my teachers kept recommending it so frequently and so heartily that I had to give it a try, even if its not exactly in my field. He was right. It is just an amazing piece of work.
It's an intellectual history of sorts, except there are practically no individual characters or thinkers. Most of the innumerable quotes come from a barely distinguished mass of newspapers and More...
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Mar 29, 2011
Jason
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An intellectual tour-de-force. I have learned more about the development of American political theory by reading this book than by any other. The founders understood that people were by nature self-interested and could not design a system reliant upon virtue for its success. "America would remain free not because of any quality in its citizens of spartan self-sacrifice to some nebulous public good, but in the last analysis because of the concern each individual would have in his own self
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Feb 01, 2011
Beth
rated it: 
Detailed explanation of the role of republicanism in establishing the American republic, and necessary reading for anyone hoping to understand the role Wood and his mentor, Bernard Bailyn, played in changing historical understandings of early American politics.
Apr 21, 2011
Sam
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This is a fantastic book on the political philosophy of the new American republic. It's got a pretty dry narrative (if there's even one at all). However, his understanding of Whig, Republican, Federalist, Anti-Federalist and other political philosophies remains second to none, over half a century later.
Sep 23, 2010
"The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 (Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia) by Gordon S. Wood (1998)"
Nov 16, 2011
Martha
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One of the half dozen most important books ever written about the American Revolution. This 615 page book is no light read.
Oct 10, 2010
Russell
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Fantastic, but *dense.* But no one has been more significant in shaping our understanding of the American founding.
Mar 27, 2010
Jeff
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The best book on the revolutionary period. This book is packed and well written. A tour do force.
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Aug 10, 2008
Ryan
rated it:
One of the most enjoyable works to read about those years essential to the formation of the Republic, despite the factional rivalries that were already well-established (and continue to characterize American society). Many authors are too technical or just plain dry when writing about the Constitutional era, but this is a lovely exception.
Apr 28, 2011
Mark
rated it:
Essential for an understanding of how the American Republic was created, from the Declaration of Independence, through the Articles of Confederation and ending with the creation and adoption of the Constitution. This was required reading for a course I had on that subject in the Spring of 2010 at Temple University - Ambler.
Jul 07, 2008
Debbie
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Gordon Wood defined a new concept of understanding early American political history with this brilliant book. He literally wrote the book on republicanism, a concept fashioned out of the bits and pieces of previous ideologies as well as contemporary issues in post-revolutionary America.
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