Customer Reviews

James Madison

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Over the past year, I've added something to my bucket list. Before I die, I plan to read at least one book on every US president, in order of the dates of their presidencies. I have read a number out of order, having read several books on Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Clinton over the past few years. But, this book on James Madison follows Chernow's Washington, McCullough's John Adams, and Ellis's Jefferson, American Sphinx.

While Brookhiser's biography of Madison provides a great historical timeline of his life, it really does not capture who Madison was. He goes to great lengths to paint a human portrait of his wife Dolley, but fails to capture anything about the personality of the "father of the US Constitution. Following the detail shown for this type of writing by Chernow and McCullough, I found this unsatisfying as if something was missing from the book.

Overall, the history is fine and the prose well written. The book itself was easy to follow and understand. But if you are a student of the psychology of leaders, this book leaves something to be desired.

For a historical perspective, this book does near 5 stars. For a complete profile of James Madison he man, it was a little disappointing.

It's hard to understate James Madison's influence over the US Constitution. The Philadelphia Convention ran for several months and most of the framers came and went for periods of time. Not James Madison. He attended every session and pushed for his ideas of how a government of the people should work. Checks and balances, judicial review, bicameral legislature - we owe the lion's share of praise for these institutions to him.

What is so admirable about Madison is how he knew his history and used it to argue his points. A reader, writer, and statesman, he drew on everything from ancient civilizations to philosophy to promote his ideas. We have few leaders today who are as authoritative about their government.

Yet for Madison, as with so many of the Founding Fathers, it's tragic to read about his failure to address slavery. He owned slaves. And many times he passed on opportunities to begin the work of abolishing the institution. It's hard to imagine slave owners voluntarily giving up their "property," but I can't help but wonder what effect a dramatic Madisonian speech against slavery might have had on the country. During his twilight years, he had tremendous sway over the people. He could have done a tremendous service to the country by speaking out against slavery.

Richard Brookheiser is a very good writer. The prose flows smoothly. My only area of concern is that this work is quite short. It's only 300 pages long. In just 20 pages we move through Madison's entire youth to the events of 1776! If you are accustomed to the more detailed biographies like those from David McCullough, Steven Ambrose, or Jean Edward Smith, you will find yourself very surprised by the brevity of this book. I sense there is a lot more of James Madison that I did not get to know.

Given the regular release of new books on Washington, Jefferson, Adams and others, it is helpful and important to read this latest and excellent biography of James Madison. Madison's accomplishments are often lost in the long and large shadows of Washington and Jefferson. He was the consummate behind the scenes advisor, ghost writer, partisan, and strategist. In that role his brilliance and contributions are too often overlooked. Just as Madison himself was willing to let his brilliance, dedication, and hard work shine obscurely through the public reputations of Washington and Jefferson, historians have seldom pulled back the curtain to show Madison in his true and central role. Richard Brookhiser has done Madison and his readers a service in writing this excellent biography and does pull the curtain back to show Madison's paternity in the birth of the Constitution and the Union it formed and sustained. The book is concise and immediately captures the reader's attention through its flowing narration. I have deducted one star because I sensed that the author presented a Jeffersonian negativity towards Adams, Hamilton and the cadre of federalists among the founding fathers. This approach, to me, clouds the book's interpretation of their shared roles and accomplishments. Since Brookhiser has written excellent books on Hamilton and the generations of the Adams family, his approach is surprising. Perhaps it is an excessive effort to balance his perspective, given that earlier work. For a reader familiar with the period this element of demerit is merely a distraction and source of frustration. The book is truly enjoyable and well worth reading.

This is a relatively short overview of James Madison's life, and in many ways it is unsatisfying. It is a whirlwind tour, with almost as much time spent on Dolley Madison's charms as the creation of the Bill of Rights or the differences between the Federalists and the Republicans. The author's firm belief in Madison's intellectual loftiness is very hard to verify based upon what you read here.

Having said that, Brookhiser does encapsulate the first few decades of the Republic and present at least cursory portraits of several of the Founding Fathers as well as short summaries of the most notable events. I imagine someone trying to acquaint himself with the times would find this a useful introduction, though so many specifics are left out that anyone with even a vague interest will find himself looking for better books which begs the question- why not just start with the more comprehensive tomes?

What did interest me is the modern feel of politics even 200 years ago- the backbiting, logrolling, compromising and willingness to flip flop if it suited you at the moment. Hence Madison could write of implied powers in the Federalists papers, sanction state nullification of laws in the Virginia decrees and worry about Federalists who voiced the same opinion at the Hartford Conventions. All this proves either the "flexibility" or dis ingenuousness of even the greatest political thinkers, depending upon your viewpoint.

Another point of enlightenment for me was Madison's belief in "The People" as the ultimate arbiter of all political decisions. Of course here too he held conflicting opinions as he feared the geographical interests that threatened the union, and one has to wonder how he would feel about a country where almost 50% pay no Federal taxes- would the pall of class warfare have dampened his belief in populism?

So for me the most rewarding aspects of this book could have been presented in a long magazine article. The rest is history lite which lends itself to those who are looking for a quick summary of the birth of the US as presented through the accomplishments of its fourth President. Almost all the important stuff is presented and you will be able to discuss the XYZ affair at a cocktail party with the best of them. But if you really want to understand the times, this is not the book for you. It may whet your appetite, but it will not satisfy your hunger.

Although well researched and the author has a thorough knowledge of the subject and time, his arrogance of perspective from which it was written detracts from this biography. His persnickety cheap shots throughout at virtually every person of any consequence in the book indicates a "we're a lot smarter these days" modern attitude. I see this hubris beginning to creep into more and more writing of biography today. Though the book is replete with them, I cite but one sample. It is on page 187 and pertains to John Randolph. "Some Americans saw the flaw. John Randolph, like a stopped clock, was occasionally right, and he blasted the Franco-American truce." From another perspective, one might see this man as having been a person of substance, character and a servant of the public welfare for his state and nation. After all he served as a Minister to Russia, senator and congressman. He deserves a lot more respect than this type of arrogance. If one can discern the author's persistent expectations of perfection from the historical characters, this biography is acceptable. If not, you might want to skip this work on Madison.

Richard Brookhiser should have saved the waste of paper and ink it took to produce this biography.

Empire of Liberty, Gordon Wood's superb survey American history covering 1789-1815 quite literally has more detail of James Madison's considerable accomplishments than Brookhiser's excuse of a biography.

For instance, Madison, who originally opposed amending the Constitution to accommodate the Anti-Federalists objections to a strong central government, was pursuaded by his neighbor Thomas Jefferson of the need to amend the just-drafted constitution. Madison sifted through the Anti Federalists' arguments against the new American government, keeping protections for minority groups subject to tyranny of majorities at state levels and discarding suggestions that would have gutted the Constitution.

Madison pushed his concepts through the House, where what he regarded as key protections were stripped. The House's version was passed to the Senate, which added its own significant changes. Finally, the Bill of Rights as we know it was passed through both houses and sent to the states for ratification.

From a political perspective, Madison strengthened the foundation of the federal government he strove to create by adding protections that his political opponents advocated, without adopting their goals of undermining the central government. According to Wood, not only was Madison the father of the Constitution, but he was the individual most responsible for pushing through the legislation that protects minority groups from the tyranny of majorities.

And, he did this while not defeating his purposes by stubbornly insisting on what he regarded as key components to protections provided, and how they would be provided (whether integrated into the Constitution, or tacked on as 10 amendments).

This was how the American government was designed to work. Imagine this type of accomplishment in today's conference.

Wood's account is exemplary for a survey history. But I wanted more detail, so I turned to Brookhiser's biography focused solely on Madison's life. Brookhiser's account of this period notes that Madison changed his position; and it tells us that initially Madison said the changes sought by the Anti Federalists were not necessary, but reversed his account of his position during a political campaign.

In other words, Brookhiser, senior editor of National Review, has reduced this important phase of his subject's political life to a unrinating war over flip-flopping and he-said, he-said politics.

In a biography of Madison, I would have liked more detail on a cataloguing of rights Madison felt were important, but that were sacrificed to the political process (politics, after all, is the art of the possible). What did Madison have to do to get the amendments through the legislative process?

I especially turn to books to be informed. I find it most disappointing that Brookhiser has reduced his account of Madison so that it will fit into the uninformed and uninformative scope of today's political debate. I have limited shelf space and Brookhiser's book will no longer consume valuable room that can be filled by the works of those who aim to inform readers.

A realistic look at Madison's historic accomplishments. His major contribution was nothing less than establishing American constitutionalism. But he did not see clearly into America's capitalistic future like Alexander Hamilton did. Madison was anti-city and anti-bank. He did not understand the real nature of the of The French Revolution. He was thrilled by it. And in effect he turned a blind eye to slavery. As President he seemed to unwisely stumble into the War of 1812 against Great Britain, the most powerful nation at that time.

but doesn't compare to McCullough's book on Adams. Miles apart between these two authors. Curiously, confirms McCullough's assertions that Madison and Jefferson were conniving demagogues, willing to distort the truth through surrogates if the end result was to advance their views on republicanism. Easy reading but filled with contemporaneous remarks and personal opinions. Not objective at all...

Excellent biography. Shows Madison as a politician with courage but with flaws and mistakes. Treats Madison as man who dealt with his problems, not as an omnipotent visionary who gives us clear answers to our political problems.

Madison was a pivotal player in the early evolution of the Country and almost nothing has been written about his life outside his work on the Constitution. This book is a great exposition of his entire long and very robust life.