Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

by Joseph J. Ellis

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

book data

1833 ratings, 3.92 average rating, 280 reviews (more data...)

edit

published

February 5th 2002 (first published 2000) by Vintage

binding

Paperback, 304 pages

literary awards

Pulitzer Prize for History (2001)

isbn

0375705244 (isbn13: 9780375705243)

description

In retrospect, it seems as if the American Revolution was inevitable. But was it? In Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis reveals that many of th...more

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | compare prices ($4.49)…

Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.

new topic
discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

Best Books Ever

2657

5161wpvdndl

1885

41gt7kjhsvl

1400 books | 2573 voters

More lists...

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2592)

All ratings | 5 stars (471) | 4 stars (867) | 3 stars (397) | 2 stars (78) | 1 star (20) | avg 3.92

all | this edition

Ginger

Ginger rated it:

02/05/08

recommended to Ginger by: my american history prof.
recommends it for: no one.

This book was the first book that ever made me cry because it was too hard to read pleasurably. I felt like the author took stories we all already know about, and locked himself in a dark room with a thesaurus and babelfish and used the LOLZCATZ approach to writing, only in historese. I frustra-cried, it was that bad.
I felt double bad about this book because I had bought it for my dad earlier in the year as a birthday gift, and when it was on the required reading list of my American History c...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Nick

Nick rated it:

08/14/08

bookshelves: history

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: Early American History Afficionados

I think giving this book five stars actually does a disservice to the author: It deserves 20! Joesph Ellis' work, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, is a wonderful narrative that immerses the reader in the minds of the founders of the United States of America, and explores the consequences of their actions (or inactions).

Ellis divides the book into six chapters, each revolving around a pivotal point in time, or around specific persons. People mentioned, specifically:
* Georg...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

Julie (Mom2lnb)

Julie (Mom2lnb) rated it:

(review of isbn 0375405445)

05/16/08

bookshelves: history, read-2008

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: anyone interested in American history

As a lover of all things historical and a casual reader of history books, I thought that Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation was very informative and educational. I learned many things about America's founding fathers and the revolutionary period of history that I didn't previously know. The book is laid out in six separate vignettes, each following a crucial event in that era of history: the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton; a private deal that was made between ...more As a lover of all things historical and a casual reader of history books, I thought that Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation was very informative and educational. I learned many things about America's founding fathers and the revolutionary period of history that I didn't previously know. The book is laid out in six separate vignettes, each following a crucial event in that era of history: the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton; a private deal that was made between Hamilton, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson on the location of the new capitol in exchange for passage of Hamilton's finance plan; the silence of the founding fathers on the issue of slavery; George Washington's farewell to public service; the sometimes contentious collaboration between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in the years following Washington's presidency; and the renewal of Adams and Jefferson's friendship in their waning years. The book is also something of a character sketch of each of these key players in America's history.

The thing I enjoyed most about Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, were all the little facts and anecdotes I was able to glean from the text. Things like the loving, devoted marriage that John and Abigail Adams shared, in which he seemed to view her as his equal and value her political counsel above all others. Joseph Ellis has compiled a volume of John and Abigail's letters to each other which I think might make for interesting follow-up reading. Another fascinating little tidbit I learned was that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1826). Also, as someone who is intrigued by forensic science, I found the forensic-style analysis of the Burr/Hamilton duel to be very engaging. It's all the little things that always help to bring history alive for me, and many small details like these were woven in with lots of scholarly prose to make a strong narrative that would, in my opinion, be useful to anyone looking to learn more about American history. I would warn the casual reader though, that the academic nature of the book does not make for light reading, but neither is it so complex as to be completely inaccessible to the general reader. While I didn't find it to be entirely dull and boring, it did have a slow pace that failed to fully spark my interest and hold my attention. It actually took me quite a while to finish the book, but I'm glad that I did. I was not at all surprised to find that this book was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for history....less

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Jenny

Jenny rated it:

08/24/07

bookshelves: nonfiction

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in August, 2007

The book is divided into six chapters, preceded by a preface and ending with a section of notes and an index. Joseph Ellis uses footnotes generously, making citations left and right, as any researcher would. However, the footnotes are not, as one might think, located at the foot of the page, but at the end of the book. While this would be acceptable were the footnotes simply citations, Ellis also offers explanations and asides, which only provides the reader with the unfortunate task of flipping...more The book is divided into six chapters, preceded by a preface and ending with a section of notes and an index. Joseph Ellis uses footnotes generously, making citations left and right, as any researcher would. However, the footnotes are not, as one might think, located at the foot of the page, but at the end of the book. While this would be acceptable were the footnotes simply citations, Ellis also offers explanations and asides, which only provides the reader with the unfortunate task of flipping back and forth through the book.

Joseph Ellis is certainly intelligent and a brilliant writer. However, because of his constant overuse of metaphors and his excessive loquacity, the reader is often bored and left searching for a more succinct version of events. Rather than simply state the facts, Ellis tosses in extra useless phrases, describing the quality of Hamilton’s skin and Adams’ stature before launching into a lengthy explanation of an event that could have expressed the same amount of information in one page as opposed to twenty. Ellis’s word choice is often cumbersome, his sentences rambling. The few interesting facts to be had were so entrenched in unnecessary explanations and asides, that the reader nearly forgets them, so focused on trying to navigate Ellis’s writing.

Founding Brothers is full of entertaining anecdotes and lesser-known characteristics of the Founding Fathers. Though it can be tedious to read and Ellis’s writing can often be overwhelming, the book does earn historical merit, delving further into the personalities and relationships of the men as opposed to the events themselves.

However, because Ellis is so intent on developing every insignificant nuance of the episodes, the reader is, in most cases, left uninterested. Even the most dedicated of history buffs would have a difficult time finding Founding Brothers a wholly enjoyable read. Ellis comes over as pretentious and condescending rather than knowledgeable, and left me wishing for a different book in which there is less focus on exaggerating the writer’s extensive vocabulary, and more focus on the history. Founding Brothers is best suited to a patient fan of American history who doesn’t mind learning the extra details. Ellis certainly did what he set out to do: he explores the character of the Founding Fathers and how they came to confront the challenges facing them in building the United States of America. Unfortunately, he did so in a way that did not interest me, but in a way that impressed others and showed his true insight into American history.
...less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

Tom

Tom rated it:

02/06/08

Read in February, 2008

What a disappointment. Founding Brothers reads like an apologetic for long-time Founding Father of disrepute, John Adams, whose aggrandizement here expectedly reduces Thomas Jefferson to the dual role of timely revolutionary opportunist and self-deluding contradictorian, which may not be a word. Given this, Adams' non-maneuver of allowing the Treaty of Tripoli to be unanimously ratified by the Senate in 1797 is a conspicuous no-show. Or did it not quite raise the pedestal to advertise his...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

4 comments

Luke

Luke rated it:

(review of isbn 0375405445)

11/28/08

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Luke by: Myself
recommends it for: History enthusiasts interested in early American formation

This book, and many like it, provides the reader with an understanding that all of the events we learned in high school about History are truly much more interesting and life altering than one could possibly believe. Our schools have dumbed down history, but authors like Ellis provide great insight that we otherwise would have never had.

I love this book. My wife asked me some time ago that if I could travel back in time, where I would go. I answered by saying that I would be with both Hamilt...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Michelle

Michelle rated it:

04/09/08

Read in January, 2007

Founding Brothers is a deep look at the men who gave the United States its foundation. This book is a Pulitzer Prize winner, but I had trouble enjoying the stories it told. It is such a indepth look at this era that I felt I could only handle small chunks at a time. This would be a great read for someone who has a wealth of prior knowledge about this time in history and wants a closer look at the characters who played a role in our government.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Diane

Diane rated it:

07/11/08

I loved this book. Even if you're not a history buff, you will like this book.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Alex

Alex rated it:

12/02/08

Read in December, 2008

The revolutionary generation came to life for me in these pages. Our founding fathers are no longer the cold marble busts I imagined. Instead, Ellis' book has replaced those inanimate stones with fallible men that are infinitely more interesting and inspiring.

I am also amazed at how much of our current political language and debate derives from the rivalries, tensions, and ideologies of the 1790s. The founding fathers defined much of what is still relevant to current American political li...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Ryan Lawson

Ryan rated it:

10/08/08

I've come to really favor reading about American history. I think the reason why I so thoroughly enjoy American literature is because it offers a vast amount of insight into American history.

Founding Brothers is a decent book for any American history buff. It offers an insight into the lives of the Revolutionary Generation or, what I like to call, the Rich Old White Guy Generation. (I'm kind of joking when I say that...)It gave me a fairly healthy sense of the differences between the Federa...more I've come to really favor reading about American history. I think the reason why I so thoroughly enjoy American literature is because it offers a vast amount of insight into American history.

Founding Brothers is a decent book for any American history buff. It offers an insight into the lives of the Revolutionary Generation or, what I like to call, the Rich Old White Guy Generation. (I'm kind of joking when I say that...)It gave me a fairly healthy sense of the differences between the Federalists and the Republicans. I also got to learn more deeply about some of the fundamental political and military squabbles of the times.

Probably the most relevant substance that the book has to offer is its ability to actually present significant differences between the Founders. (Though, I must interject here. Ellis pretty much focuses on two people in this book, Adams and Jefferson. Every other "Brother" is just a supporting character. Washington is portrayed as an icon, as usual. Madison is only mentioned in how he was Jefferson's lackey. Hamilton is discussed shortly in the beginning in reference to his duel with Aaron Burr, but afterwards he's only discussed in how he affected Adams. And, Ben Franklin is only mentioned about five to seven times. The most information about Franklin is given to juxtapose him with Adams. The reason why this bothers me is because on the cover of the book are portraits of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, and Burr; but really this book should have been titled Adams versus Jefferson and the subtitle should have been I, Joseph J. Ellis, fully support Adams and criticize anyone who got in his way.)

Phew, with all of that being said!

Most Americans, I believe, look at these men as being extremely synonymous. They all helped with the revolution therefore they must all have had the same ideas. I know I was guilty of this train of thought. Ellis helps to point out that this wasn't the case. These men did have differences some of which escalated into treason, attempted rebellion, and duels.

Ellis' bias is very tiresome, however. As a reader, you sense halfway through that this guy probably loves Fox News and is more than likely a Republican. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a Republican but a reader shouldn't be able to sense that through a text in which you try to present an unbiased HISTORY. He's always quick to praise Adams and point out that he was always the outsider; but he never neglects to point out the failures of Jefferson. It's the little asides he puts in after making a statement about Jefferson that work to point out exactly what Jefferson contrived or got wrong, whereas Adams decisions and ideas are impervious.

If I wanted to get a biography on Adams then I would have bought a biography over the man!

Another very bothersome thing about the book is how it presents the times much like a high school history textbook. I’m speaking specifically in how Washington warned the Cherokees to begin taking the “one path” i.e. act as the white man. Ellis disingenuously says that, “The only realistic solution required the Indians to accept the inevitable, abandon their hunter-gather economies, which required huge tracts of land to work effectively, embrace farming as their preferred mode of life, and gradually over several generations allow themselves to be assimilated into the larger American nation” (p. 159).

I literally almost put the book down at this part. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it the Native Americans who taught the colonist how TO FARM THE LAND!? They were already farmers. For Ellis to present them as merely a hunter-gatherer society is just plain wrong and demeaning.

But, as I said, this is still an interesting read. If you're looking for a short diatribe covering the few decades after '76 then this is it. If you're looking to learn about Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, or Burr then I don't think this is the best book to depend on.
...less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Mindy

Mindy rated it:

08/20/08

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: anyone interested in a learning more about the Revolutionary period in American history

Very interesting book, and I plan on reading more from Ellis. He helps to put the Revolutionary period in a light that's different from how we tend to look at it. To us, it's a forgone conclusion that it would work. To them, they were pretty much making it up as they went along, trying to create a government that would last.

The slavery questions was bigger back then than people realize - but it was silenced, always lurking below the surface. Jefferson himself wrote that it was something the ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Dallin

Dallin rated it:

07/26/08

A great read for those wanting to get a grasp of the political intricacies behind our nation's founding. Rather than focusing on events--it doesn't touch on the war except in brief retrospect--"Founding Brothers" explores how the political relationships and battles between men like Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Franklin (not to mention Abigail Adams) shaped and sustained the U.S. What was striking for me was Ellis's assertion in the intro th...more A great read for those wanting to get a grasp of the political intricacies behind our nation's founding. Rather than focusing on events--it doesn't touch on the war except in brief retrospect--"Founding Brothers" explores how the political relationships and battles between men like Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Franklin (not to mention Abigail Adams) shaped and sustained the U.S. What was striking for me was Ellis's assertion in the intro that our country was not based on complete unity, but on compromise, argument, and debate. The rest of the book shows how these great (though far from perfect) men fought, argued, and compromised from the very beginning. It's a wake-up call to those who think that our modern politics are woefully removed from a more pristine era. When the vice-president and the secretary of state, Burr and Hamilton respectively, settle their differences with pistols (imagine Rice and Cheney doing the same thing), you know there is nothing romantic about these politics.
My favorite parts:
I never realized how close--and then how far--America was from banning the slave trade and emancipating the slaves from the very beginning. The Quakers made a strong push, but southern politicians were firm, and even created the arguments for slavery that would last into the civil war. While men like Washington and Jefferson personally opposed it, one can only wonder what would've happened if they had thrown their political will behind the issue. Then again, it might have split the country in two. A fascinating, but ultimately tragic, story.
The story behind Washinton's Farewell Address. Besides learning that it was never actually an address, it was interesting to learn what prompted it, how it was received, and its ultimate significance. I never realized, either, how venerated Washington was in his own time. They practically treated him like a god--though some of his later political decisions undermined much of his support; Jefferson even called him a "senile Samson or Solomon," duped by a Federalist conpiracy.
Overall, the book is well written and interesting, though I admittedly was bored at parts. Plus, I skipped the last chapter b/c I was ready to move on.
Also, it won the Pulitzer for History in 2001....less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Adrienne

Adrienne rated it:

07/24/08

Read in July, 2008

Knowing little about this historic time period (and most details in history, I'm ashamed to say), I was a bit worried about what to expect from a relatively short book (although I was much less intimidated by it because of its short length). I didn't know if I needed more background knowledge to grasp briefly explained concepts or if it would tell me so little as to not have learned enough for my liking. I was not disappointed in either regard.

'Founding Brothers' consists of six stories o...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Doran Barton

Doran rated it:

07/20/08

Read in September, 2007

I recently finished reading the book Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis and would like to present a mini-review of it.

This isn't a new book. It's been out for quite a while and has even spawned an A & E miniseries by the same name which is available on DVD. Could be a good Christmas gift. (*hint hint*)

Without going into too much of the detail of specific historical events surrounding the Revolutionary War and the creation of the Declaration Of Independence and the U.S. Constitutio...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Richard

Richard rated it:

07/05/08

This is an outstanding description of 6 of the men most involved in the founding of America: Washington, Hamilton, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Franklin. Ellis has done an excellent job of bringing out the details of the inner workings of these men at the early beginnings of America, for the most part, after the Constitution was adopted. Sometimes the book reads like a textbook and certainly could be used as such in a political science class. I enjoyed the book because it gave me mor...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Mike

Mike rated it:

05/18/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in May, 2008

Founding Brothers knocks my socks off. The story of the United States in the revolutionary era is so spectacular, that I believe not even the most creative fiction writer could have concocted such a remarkable string of events. This non-fiction account of the US from prior to the declaration of Independance through the death of Adams and Jefferson in 1826 describes the lives of the more prominent founding fathers not as historical hot-shits as we know them to be, but as ordinary people that the ...more Founding Brothers knocks my socks off. The story of the United States in the revolutionary era is so spectacular, that I believe not even the most creative fiction writer could have concocted such a remarkable string of events. This non-fiction account of the US from prior to the declaration of Independance through the death of Adams and Jefferson in 1826 describes the lives of the more prominent founding fathers not as historical hot-shits as we know them to be, but as ordinary people that the reader can actually relate to. The book itself provides a smorgasbord of brain-stimulating historical facts, but also offers some deep insight by the author that ties all of these facts together into an all-you-can-eat buffet of literary obesity. When I found this book under a pile of textbooks in my brother's room, I asked him whether he'd read it or not and whether he had enjoyed it. His ever so eloquent response was, "It suuuuuuuuuucked", which implied that he was assigned to read it for class, which implies that he, in fact, did not read it. Being a class-assigned text, I myself was leary at first to read a book voluntarily that many students would rather pay the foreign exchange student (ironically) to read and write a paper on. But within the first 20 pages I was hooked into the details of the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Wikipedia proved to be an excelent supplement to the facts presented in the book, because whereas the author is trying to promote historical accuracy, the people of internet land don't really give a shit and will write every little bit of myth and lore they have ever heard about the subject. What is truly remarkable about the text as a whole is the ability of people in 1800 to maintain composure despite a tirade of insults being hurled at them (perhaps because the insults themselves were mild mannered - "John Adams has the political sense of direction as a headless bird" sort of thing). Even when arguments became so heated that guns were produced to solve them, they followed a strict "gentleman's code" to duel. This entailed travelling to a remote location by boat and having an "umpire" to make sure each combatant fought fair. Today, the wrong glance will get your wig split before you have time to blink. Perhaps the US would be better off if we took a page from our founding fathers and just played nice. I give this book 5 out of 5 tri-cornered hats....less

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Twenty-Third Avenue Books

Twenty-Third Avenue Books rated it:

03/06/08

Read in March, 2008

Founding Brothers is the Pulitzer Prize-winning United States history book written by Joseph J. Ellis.
The book brings to life the personalities of seven men who helped shape the beginning of this country and reveals them as the imperfect but determined people that they were. Those men are George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin (although he makes very brief appearances), James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr.
Specifically, Founding Brothers looks at the...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Joan

Joan rated it:

10/13/07

bookshelves: history

Read in December, 2007

I loved this book. Ellis dips deeply into moments in the life of the revolutionary generation and teaches more about the history of that time than anything i have ever read or been taught.

His moments include: The Duel - when Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton.

The Dinner - Thomas Jefferson, then secretary of state works with Alexander Hamilton, secretary fo the treasury, holds a dinner party. The issue is that Hamilton's plan for recovery of public credit was in gridlock. Hamilton p...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Dylan

Dylan rated it:

09/23/07

bookshelves: american-history, the-american-revolution

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: Ted, Michael

This book is a collection of historical short stories composed by the historian, Joseph Ellis, who has spent his career focused on this particular generation. With biographies published on Adams, Washington and Jefferson, Ellis should certainly be considered one of if not the premier revolutionary historian of modern times.

In the re-telling of late 19th century, post-revolutionary America-- through the accounts of seven of that generations most notable figures-- his task was daunting. Bu...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

Jonna

Jonna rated it:

02/23/07

bookshelves: pastreadsworthrevisiting

Read in June, 2006

recommends it for: EVERYONE

Thanks to my former roommate, I developed a serious obsession with The West Wing, which made me really interested, for the first time in my life, to put fiction aside for the better part of this year and start to read about the history of this country about which I have so many opinions.

The person who recommended this book to me told me it should be required reading for every high school student in this country, and I have to agree. Ellis brings human faces to some of the most common Big Nam...more

Like this review? yes

1 comment

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 129 130 next »

recent status updates | recommend it | blog it

combine
other editions (13)