The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: festina lente, equal state votes, nineteen resolutions, New York, New Jersey, Confederation Congress (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Since Catherine Drinker Bowen's Miracle at Philadelphia appeared in 1966, no work has challenged its classic status. Now, Stewart's work does. Briskly written, full of deft characterizations and drama, grounded firmly in the records of the Constitutional Convention and its members' letters, this is a splendid rendering of the document's creation. All the debates are here, as are all the convention's personalities. It detracts nothing from Stewart's lively story to point out that it's just that—a tale—and not an interpretation. Stewart, a constitutional lawyer in Washington, D.C., ignores the recent decades' penetrating scholarship about the Constitution's creation in favor of a fast-paced narrative of a long, hot summer's work. Only one choice mars the book. Stewart, like Bowen, wants us to see the four summer months as the only period when the Constitution was created. But as James Madison and others acknowledged soon afterward, the state ratifying conventions and the First Federal Congress, which added the Bill of Rights, also contributed to the Constitution as we know it. Stewart's excellent book will appeal to those looking for descriptive history at its best, not for a fresh take on the subject. B&w illus. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

This is, of course, a story that has been told before. But like most great stories, it is worth retelling, especially when told exceedingly well. Stewart, a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, is a fine writer whose narrative unfolds like a well-structured novel. He begins with a description of the unsettled period just before the convention, as states quarreled with each other and a group of indebted farmers burned courthouses in Massachusetts. He describes the halting moves toward a Constitutional Convention that essentially were launched at a sparsely attended conference at George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. The narrative gathers steam as the convention begins in the sweltering heat of Philadelphia. Here Stewart artfully shows the roles played by the key players as they grappled with issues as varied as the rights of states and the future of slavery. In Stewart's view, the true genius of these founders was their understanding that free, popular government must be based upon compromise. General readers will find this work stimulating. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743286928
• ISBN-13: 978-0743286923
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #191,242 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So, you think you know how we got our Constitution?, April 8, 2007

By	Eric F. Facer "E. Facer" (Centreville, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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The author Philip Roth once said: "History is where everything unexpected in its own time is chronicled on the page as inevitable." There is a tendency among many Americans to approach the founding of the United States with this attitude. If Washington had not led the Continental Army to victory, then someone else could just as easily have done it. And if James Madison and his colleagues had not provided the impetus for the Constitutional Convention, we somehow would have still ended up with the government we have today. Those who read Mr. Stewart's fine recounting of the events of 1787 will quickly become disabused of that notion. There was nothing inevitable about the creation of our central government.

Mr. Stewart tells a great story and he relates it succinctly and eloquently. Though his is certainly not the first telling of these events, he does a remarkable job of explaining the sectional differences among the delegates. Perhaps most illuminating are his descriptions of the personality quirks, prejudices and idiosyncrasies of the participants, all of which profoundly influenced the end product: our Constitution. And even though you know the outcome of the story, Mr. Stewart creates considerable suspense. More than once, you will remark to yourself: "How on earth did they ever agree on ANYTHING let alone a document that has served as the foundation for the greatest democratic experiment in history"?

Highly recommended.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant reconstruction of an epic moment in history, April 16, 2007

By	James M. Morris "James McGrath Morris" (Tesuque, NM) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Often the "epic" moments of history that earn the attention of our best writers are battles, wars, or disasters. Luckily for us, David Stewart turned his remarkably gifted writing talents to a turning point in history where the fight was over ideas and the weapons of choice were words.
The book is spell-binding. One cannot read "The Summer of 1787" without feeling as if one were present at one of those very rare moments in history where all the forces converge to make something better of us. Anyone who reads this book will never be able to say again that history is boring. When in the hands of an author like Stewart, history reads like the best novel of today.
But more important than the fact the book is well written is that "The Summer of 1787" goes a long way to humanizing the Constitutional Convention. Sadly most Americans, because of the way our history is taught, regard the Convention as almost a religious moment when a group--appropriately nicknamed "Founding Fathers"--delivers to the public a document almost in the manner by which Moses brought the Commandments down from the mountain. Instead, Stewart shows how the final document was the result of politics and compromise. In other words, it was the product of mortals.
This is important because as long as we regard these men as God like we will continue to raise up generations of young people who feel that such accomplishments are beyond their power. Instead, we should be leading them to believe we expect greater and better things from them.
Do us all a favor and buy this book for a young person today.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars philosopher kings they were not, April 14, 2007

By	Andrew I. Dayton (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In a world where the talking heads are forever making pronouncements on the sacred status of what the founding fathers intended when they wrote the Constitution, this work will come as a refreshing revelation: our founding fathers had high ideals indeed, but they could also be horse traders and scheming politicos when they had to be, which was usually. Stewart has written a riveting tale of the colorful, larger than life characters, bizarre incidents and unintended consequences that created the world's greatest document, the Constitution. And best of all, it reads better than a novel.