Synopses & Reviews
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER - NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A landmark work of history explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals — Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison — confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for our nation.
The United States was more a fragile hope than a reality in 1790. During the decade that followed, the Founding Fathers — re-examined here as Founding Brothers — combined the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with the content of the Constitution to create the practical workings of our government. Through an analysis of six fascinating episodes — Hamilton and Burr's deadly duel, Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address, Adams' administration and political partnership with his wife, the debate about where to place the capital, Franklin's attempt to force Congress to confront the issue of slavery and Madison's attempts to block him, and Jefferson and Adams' famous correspondence — Founding Brothers brings to life the vital issues and personalities from the most important decade in our nation's history.
Review
"A splendid book — humane, learned, written with flair and radiant with a calm intelligence and wit." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Lively and illuminating….leaves the reader with a visceral sense of a formative era in American life." The New York Times
Review
"Learned, exceedingly well-written, and perceptive." The Oregonian
About the Author
Joseph J. Ellis is the author of many works of American history including Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize; and American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, which won the National Book Award. He recently retired from his position as the Ford Foundation Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with his wife and their youngest son.