Customer Reviews

Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution

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An excellent biography of the three leading fugures of the American Revolution. Ferling makes a compelling case to restore the reputation of John Adams to its rightful place. Adams deserves to be remembered as more than a grumpy counter-figure to Jefferson's optimism. The author also strongly attacks Jefferson by calling into question the lack of leadership evidenced by Jefferson throughout the Revolutionary years. Committment was provided by Adams and Washington when things looked bleak. When Jefferson was tending his vines at Monticello, Washington led troops and Adams served around the world. If you are interested in the Early Republic, this is a must read! You may disagree with his conclusions but they are well argued and refreshing.

So many books have already been published about the American Revolution as well as about Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. Ferling brilliantly analyzes all three towering figures within a specific historical context, to be sure, but also in terms of each other. He creates and then explores a matrix of juxtapositions between and among them, comparing and contrasting all three in relation to each other but also in relation to the historical context on which each had such a profound impact. What Ferling has created is both a history book of panoramic scope and a trilogy of interrelated (and to some extent interdependent) biographies. It is so well-written that I often thought I was reading a novel.

Since childhood, I have viewed certain books as "magic carpets." I include Ferling's book among them. It transported me back more than 200 years and deposited me amidst the brave and brilliant men who were about to set the world "ablaze" with their incendiary passion for an independence soon to be declared and eventually to be achieved. Ferling guides his reader through this highly combustible process. Of special interest to me is Ferling's presentation of Adams (characterized as the "Bulwark" of the American Revolution), a founding father not always mentioned in the same breath with Washington and Jefferson. With all due respect to Jefferson's accomplishments, Ferling concludes the final chapter with this observation: "To the end, he was incapable of accepting the reality of his culpability in the perpetuation and expansion of African slavery and the danger it now posed to the achievements of the American Revolution." And then in the Epilogue, Ferling asserts that the Revolutionary generation "was indeed fortunate to have had Washington and Adams as its greatest stewards and shepherds."

If you have a keen interest in the War for Independence and, especially, in those who led the new nation through and beyond that war, there is this magic carpet I know about....

This is a book that most readers will thoroughly enjoy, especially as it purports to bring a new 'twist' to our views of the revolutionary period. For the most part, it is well written, and Ferling annotates heavily to primary source material. So, why don't I love the book? Two, perhaps three, major flaws stand out in my view:

1. Ferling attributes to the protagonists characters motivated primarily by a desire for 'social mobility' - a concept which would surely have been alien to all three of Washington, Jefferson and Adams since the term first appeared in an essay of Frederick Jackson Turner (of the famous 'frontier thesis') published around the turn of the 20th century. Ambitious, they surely were, but as Christopher Lasch points out in some of his late essays, notions of advancement in the 18th & 19th centuries were very different from what we think of as social mobility today. This, I think, detracts from an otherwise insightful read on Adams, and to some extent, Washington.

2. In the end, Ferling evaluates the characters of the three men primarily in terms of there reaction to and views of slavery. Surely, it was an issue, but to pass judgement on the founders based on modern notions of what consititute politically correct views of slavery seriously mars Ferling's work as professional history.

3. The book is highly partisan against Jefferson -- whether this is because Ferling is an Adams partisan or dislikes Jefferson on slavery or what-have-you, it is as negative a case against Jefferson as one will see since he was attacked while in office by the Federalists. I suppose whether this is a flaw or not depends on ones view of Jefferson, but I think a more balanced and nuanced treatment of Jefferson would significantly improve the book.

I recently reread Gore Vidal's Aaron Burr, which was exceptionally vitriolic on both Washington and Jefferson (being told from Burr's viewpoint) and Ferling is hardly easier on Washington (other than attributing better motives) and as hard on Jefferson. Those seeking historical balance won't find it here, but only those who already have a good command of the material will be able to see where Ferling strays from judicious use of original source material into blatantly partisan analysis based on modern categories and political agenda.

A joy to read, Ferling's contextual biography of three great men woven together gives a human view of how these three, in their own ways, were indeed great men who together helped to produce a new nation. Ferling's work is both quite readable and reasonably informative--though this will never be considered in any sense "definitive" about the topic(s). Perhaps the nicest thing about this is how it kindles the fires inside, urging on more reading and thinking about the giants among men (or women) who gave us the greatest democracy we have yet known. Instead of trying to elevate the mundane to greatness, Ferling has chosen to focus instead upon that which is currently the riskiest of subjects: prominent, important, dead, white, Anglo-Saxon, males. This is not to say that others, of different color, perhaps, or less well known, were not possibly better persons in one or many ways, but rather an examination of how these three, themselves good, strong, intelligent, and educated, mixed in history's crucible at the right moment, did great things. Only a good start, but quite a good read.

Ferling concentrates on the event that launches three first presidents of the United States onto the world stage: the American Revolution. There has much been written about these three men (Edmund S. Morgan has even written a book that concentrates on these three just as Ferling has), but what sets this work apart is Ferling's piercing analysis. Rather than a pedantic recollection of the actions of these men, we are treated to his interpretation of their impact on the Revolution.

I'm not going to say that I agree with Ferling on all points, but I appreciate his erudite opinions and clear writing, and believe he has made another contribution to the already sizable quantity of literature on the American Revolition.

This brief (300 pages) history of the American Revolution, as seen through the actions of Adams, Jefferson, and Washington, is a thoroughly enjoyable, pool side type of read. Granted, it is a superficial history of the Revolution, but provides an interesting perspective of the motivations, interactions, and rather different personalities of the three founding fathers. Mr. Ferling's work does seem to be at times rather colored in favor of Washington and Adams, which might be expected, as he has written biographies of our first and second presidents. He makes some rather interesting comments about Jefferson's personality; comments which come close to a psychoanalysis of our third president. Overall, if you are searching for a history of the revolution, this work is not for you. If you are ready for a relaxing narrative of the revolution, and the actions of these three individuals, you will not be disappointed.

anyone new to the early history of the republic should consider reading this book. while it is quite brief, ferling does a decent job of telling the tale of the revolution through the eyes of the first three presidents. at times he is heavy handed with jefferson, but any student of the american revolution should know that jefferson's greatest contributions came after independence was secured. the reverence for the declaration of independence came long after it was written; its impact at the time is highly debatable. ferling spends a great deal of time trying to pull adams from the depths of obscurity-his bias is evident-but does make a compelling argument that adams is worthy of the praise. it should be noted that this book ends, for all intents and purposes, and the end of the war, and is merely an assessment of the contributions that washington, adams, and jefferson made during the revolution, and is not an evaluation of their presidencies. nevertheless, it is worthy of your time.

I still am amazed at American Revolutionary History. It is inspiring and humbling when looked at honestly. Ferling's book takes an honest look at the figures of Washington, Adams and Jefferson, as well as the social contexts each was existing and developing in during the Revolutionary period. He does not make excuses for their weaknesses, or exagerations for their strengths. This book is wonderful history.

Fascinating and immediate, "Setting the World Ablaze" follows America's first three presidents from their childhood days through their restless early adulthoods and ultimately to their placement at the fore of the new country. I've read a few books revolving around the Revolutionary war, and found this one similar in style (if more focused in scope) to A.J. Langguth's great overview, "Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution." Any fan of one book should read the other. Any student or casual reader new to Revolutionary-era history, and who is looking for a digestible and captivating narrative approach, should give this one a try--you'll come away feeling that you understand these historical giants as ambitious but ultimately very human men.

This book suffers greatly from the author's unbalanced treatment of Thomas Jefferson. Ferling takes a narrow, cramped approach to Jefferson by casting his actions/inactions in the worst possible light and virtually ignoring his accomplishments.

There is some truth to Ferling's criticisms of Jefferson, of course. Jefferson certainly had many flaws. He was a slave-owner, he believed that women were unfit for office, and the list goes on.

But Jefferson's shortcomings form only a part of the insight into his character. This book fails to capture other critical aspects of Jefferson that made him a genius, an idealist and revolutionary, and in some sense, the inventor of America.

Better modern-day historians and Jefferson biographers such as Joseph Ellis and others don't flinch from delving into Jefferson's inconsistencies and failings. But these other writers provide context (not excuses) for that while also understanding and explaining Jefferson's significance.

As I was reading this book I soon realized that whenever I came to a section about Jefferson that he would be predictably trashed. I began to anticipate this and laugh at it. Strangely, few of Jefferson's important contributions are even mentioned in this book, let alone given their due. The author appears to have had an agenda in writing this book to elevate Adams and knock Jefferson. That's not a good starting point for honest inquiry and analysis.