"Founding Brothers"

-by Joseph Ellis
2000
If you've always been curious to get beneath the mythologies of our founding fathers, this Pulitzer Prize winner is perhaps the most satisfying, well-written tome you'll find. It delves into the beliefs and conflicts of Franklin, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, and Burr, illuminating their personal lives only so much as is necessary to understand how they informed this grand ideological experiment we call home. More than a couple of them would be stunned (or in Jefferson's case, perhaps horrified) to find the republic still going, over two centuries later. Jefferson had always been my favorite...and while that's probably still ideologically true, Adams is almost certainly the most impressive and forthright among them. Washington couldn't compete with the rest intellectually, but his integrity alone assured that this experiment would survive beyond a single generation. Is Abigail Adams the most influential american female ever, and deserving of a spot on this list? Almost certainly. Were Franklin's charisma and brilliance overshadowed by a lack of substance? Perhaps, or perhaps not - he's the only founding brother to ever come out emphatically against slavery. The centrist Hamilton and the fascinating Burr never got to put their imprint upon the presidency, but that seemed to be the way the wind was blowing even before they shot at each other with murderous (or perhaps not) intent. The book is a bit Madison-light...but otherwise Ellis offers up a concise, flowing deconstruction of what these men strived and fought for. In a time when we've become the epitome of the kind of bloated, imperialist plutocracy they rose up against, it's nice to be reminded of the genuine idealism that started it all.