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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read, August 31, 2005
This review is from: The Genius of the People (Hardcover)
The Genius of the People is one of those books that grabs and holds your attention as you watch the Thirteen Colonies wrangle and haggle to write our present Constitution. Their genius is aptly demonstrated and the success of their efforts remains the benchmark of Constitution writing on the global stage.
For an insightful, educational, and exciting exploration of the writing of the US Constitution, this book can't be beat.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Genius of the People, July 25, 2002
This review is from: The Genius of the People (Hardcover)
The Genius of the People By Charles L. Mee, Jr. is about the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. But, this book brings history to life as the author has a way of writing that compells you to read on about a group of men, despite their common background, brought together ideals and interests that not everyone was entirely happy with, to the constitution. The author works the reader through the personalities, issues, conflicts and implications of the convention... bringing brilliant and the not-so-brilliant political leaders together, where alliances and feuds are on the adgenda along with vision and shortsightedness. The book works... the story unfolds with a backdrop of Philadelphia, hot, humid and insect-ridden, but the debate continue as a small but diverse society that just won independence finds itself full of dissension and factionalism. We find out that there are two primary groups, with followers building coalitions, each not wantng to give into the other. But compromise was to prevail, as James Madison, a frail but immensely resourceful scholar works his way through these contentions. The author vividly brings this story out as we feel that we are right in the thick of things as we get invigorated and challenged about American democracy. A well written and documented book with prose that will enlighten as we see dismay, anguish and disgust work its way through the delegates. This is an excellent read.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my five favorite all-time books, January 9, 2001
This review is from: The Genius of the People (Hardcover)
Imagine a book that suggests the reason the United States has its constitution is a territorial dispute over oyster fishing in the Chesapeake Bay!.... This book is a phenomenal effort, written in a very readable style and detailing the Constitutional Convention for the US, and the steps taken to aid in its ratification. Unlike many efforts that portrayed Madison as the only principle author of the Constitution, Mee writes an engaging story that begins with Madison's original thoughts and then watches his ideas change as both other ideas and politics shape the final document. Anyone who wants to truly understand how the United States governs the way it does, why we have a republic instead of a democracy, the role of slavery in shaping the compromise need only look to this book for a great understanding, and hopefully find this a book a jumping off point to understand how we govern ourselves.
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