The phrase "the Founding Fathers' intentions" is increasingly bandied about, with all opponents to every argument believing that the Founders would be in agreement with their side. Most American take for granted that the founders of our nation were all in agreement with one another, that their vision for the United States was based upon incredible foresight as to the challenges and opportunities of the future, and that these men consciously set out to create something similar to the popular democracy that has evolved over the last 200 years.

The true history of our founding is far more complex, and far more interesting, than the bland mythology that has obscured it.

Minus one star only because this collection of previously published essays and lectures is aimed at an audience of fellow historians and will not be as accessible to a general audience as some of Wood's earlier books, with too many references to minor events sprinkled throughout that general readers will be unfamiliar with. Those looking for an equally informative but more readable narrative would do better with Wood's "The Radicalism of the American Revolution."