 "Introduction to 1790s" | 2009-10-20 |
| - Reviewed By gambit21 |
| The book tells the story of several key events in the American history during 1790s and early 1800s (e.g., Hamilton/Burr duel, Washington's farawell letter, the Senate discussion on slavery, the Adams/Jefferson late life relationship). The discussion on slavery is especially interesting and important, although a bit dry, with the Hamilton/Burr duel chapter being the "best read" in that Ellis brought forth all of his artful ability and seemingly spent them all in that one chapter. Ellis wrote Jefferson's biography ''American Sphynx" and Adams biography "Passionate Sage" and it really seems that Ellis decided not to waste any research done on those two bios and so he put everything left over in the last chapter regarding Adams/Jefferson relationship. While the chapter is still interesting, there is nothing new here, especially if one has read McCullough's "John Adams" (if one has, the last chapter is hard to read through as it seems like a summary of the 2001 bio). Not to suggest that Ellis didn't do his own research, but just that his last chapter on Adams/Jefferson's relationship didn't seem to contribute anything new to the study of the two men aside from Ellis's own musings on the subject. Ellis's own musings is no substitute for a unique examination of history. So, if you're a new reader, never having read about Adams/Jefferson's relationship, you'll find it interesting, if not prompted to dig deeper. The key chapter is definitely the slavery chapter as it focuses on how the 1790s dicussion on slavery and the ultimate tabling of the discussion set the scene for the American Civil War. From this point of you, it's interesting. Then again, having, as of writing this review, not read much about 1790s slavery discussions, perhaps had I read more, Ellis's discussion would have seemed as cursory as his discussion about Adams/Jefferson. In other words, this is a great intoductory book to start with but defintely something that you'd not want to stop with. |
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 "School Book Report" | 2009-10-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2PG2G30TWO10Z |
| I needed to get a book(from a selected list) to read and write a report for a class. I didn't want to spend that much money and buy a brand new book from the book store, so I looked on here to see if I could find one. When I recieved it, I was expecting it to be maybe a little torn up and ratty. But I was pleasently suprised that it looked brand new...and it was like half the price than one at a book store! So I will definatley use Amazon again for when I need to purchase books. |
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| "Good, but not as good as the other books that Ellis has written!" | 2009-09-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1GFM0ZKG5PKJJ |
Unlike the single-subject character studies that Ellis has written, this book is a collection of six stories about the revolutionary generation. It starts out with the story of the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr (the author says that the story belongs in the beginning, although it doesn't fit there chronologically - personally, I'd leave it in the chronological order), discusses the Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison's dinner at Monticello, moves on to the Congressional discussions (or lack thereof) on slavery, and recounts Washington's Farewell Address and its influence on the new nation. The last two chapters talk about famous collaborations during and after the revolution.
I enjoyed this, but I thought that the single-topic books (His Excellency, American Sphinx, Passionate Sage) were more enjoyable. There was some overlap with those books, but I didn't think it was too redundant, and it was interesting to get details of things that weren't explained in the other books. |
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 "Pontificating Professor" | 2009-09-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: ACD0Q9S1BXOGY |
I had just finished Walter Isaacson's biography of Ben Franklin, a book I greatly admired for its ability to illuminate Franklin and his times. I thought Ellis' book would be a good followup. But after two chapters, I quit reading. The book seems designed as a scholarly performance rather than an attempt at objective illumination. For example, Ellis attempts to answer the question: Who fired first, Burr or Hamilton? After many paragraphs of dogged (and somewhat unconvincing) investigation, he triumphantly gives us the answer, while I'm thinking, "Great! Who cares?"
And I found myself irritated by the intrusive prose. Ellis is fond of convoluted sentences, and words and phrases like "Indeed,..." and "Which is to say..." crop up frequently. I went back and looked at the copyright date to be sure: Was this book written in 1940? He also tells pieces of the story in non-chronological order, for no apparent reason. I can only guess he was attempting to put a new spin on a well-known story to maintain the reader's interest. It didn't work for me.
There are many positive reviews of this book, and I don't doubt that there's much that is worthwhile. If you're a history professor or a dedicated history buff, maybe you'll find this book worth your time. Maybe the book was written for that audience; but certainly not for me.
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 "Wonderfully Instructive on How We Got From There to Here" | 2009-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By kschelberg2 |
I really enjoyed this book, largely owing to the structure. Rather than a dry recitation of the facts, the author chose six episodes from the period immediately following the American Revolution featuring the main players of the day (Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, Madison), and presented them as separate short stories. The author then deftly interwove the factual circumstances, the personality of the players and the issues (generally told from three positions, those of the opposing parties as well as the author's, presented with the historical hindsight and perspective)
Not only did I find it to be surprisingly fun to read, but this book was instructive to me on how we got to where we are now--red state versus blue state, the racial divide, intrusive government versus personal freedom, strong federal government versus states rights. Clearly, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
I also found some fascinating nuggets in this book, such as why the main street in DC is called Pennsylvania Avenue (a bone, tossed to the State of PA, for concessions on the location of the main government buildings) how fragile the newly conceived government actually was, and what a "rock star" Washington was.
All in all, an excellent first book for a novice in American history, who wants some idea of how we got from there to here.
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| "History seen through the interaction of people" | 2009-08-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: A317GMYF914CM9 |
| An engaging approach that links the facts and actions with the actors and their motivation from the perspective of the time. |
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