Buy American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville and get Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's everyday low price.

Buy Together Today: $42.19

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic by Joseph J. Ellis  (47)  $17.79

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis  (131)  $10.85

John Adams by David McCullough  (13)

1776 by David McCullough  (632)

His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis  (177)  $17.79

› Explore similar items : Books (49) Movies & TV (1)

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
In retrospect, it seems as if the American Revolution was inevitable. But was it? In Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis reveals that many of those truths we hold to be self-evident were actually fiercely contested in the early days of the republic.

Ellis focuses on six crucial moments in the life of the new nation, including a secret dinner at which the seat of the nation's capital was determined--in exchange for support of Hamilton's financial plan; Washington's precedent-setting Farewell Address; and the Hamilton and Burr duel. Most interesting, perhaps, is the debate (still dividing scholars today) over the meaning of the Revolution. In a fascinating chapter on the renewed friendship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson at the end of their lives, Ellis points out the fundamental differences between the Republicans, who saw the Revolution as a liberating act and hold the Declaration of Independence most sacred, and the Federalists, who saw the revolution as a step in the building of American nationhood and hold the Constitution most dear. Throughout the text, Ellis explains the personal, face-to-face nature of early American politics--and notes that the members of the revolutionary generation were conscious of the fact that they were establishing precedents on which future generations would rely.

In Founding Brothers, Ellis (whose American Sphinx won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 1997) has written an elegant and engaging narrative, sure to become a classic. Highly recommended. --Sunny Delaney

From Library Journal
Having considered Thomas Jefferson in his National Book Award winner, American Sphinx, Ellis expands his horizons to include Jefferson's "brothers," e.g., Washington, Madison, and Burr.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

First Sentence:
On the morning of July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were rowed across the Hudson River in separate boats to a secluded spot near Weehawken, New Jersey. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sectional compromise, code duello, revolutionary generation, great collaboration, revolutionary legacy, republican legacy, peace delegation,