Book review: Founding Brothers
Posted: 8 September 2007 at 10:57:00
I recently finished reading the book Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis and would like to present a mini-review of it.
This isn't a new book. It's been out for quite a while and has even spawned an A & E miniseries by the same name which is available on DVD. Could be a good Christmas gift. (*hint hint*)
Without going into too much of the detail of specific historical events surrounding the Revolutionary War and the creation of the Declaration Of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, Ellis's book explores the character and personality of some of the major players involved in these events.
Ellis doesn't really sugarcoat much. He tries to show the merits and flaws of each of the people he profiles in the book. Drawing from letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles written by, to, or about the people, this book shows some brutally honest aspects of the people and the times they were living in.
It was fascinating to follow the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as they bonded closely during the first congress meetings up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence (which Jefferson penned after Adams recommended him.). They continued as close friends as they reprepsented colonial interests abroad in France and England. Politics divided them during Adams' presidential administration and the election of 1800. It would be many years before they re-connected via letter-writing after they both retired from public life.
The book also talks about Washington, Hammilton, Burr, and Franklin as well, but the relationship of Adams and Jefferson is what really stood out to me, maybe because it parallels the left vs. right, Democrat vs. Republican battles we see in politics today. The story gives hope that, in the end, we can find common ground.