Book Description
In James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jack Rakove examines the life and legacy of one of the founding fathers of the United States.
Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each of the titles in the Library of American Biography Series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of American history and national life. In addition, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.
Clear and concise, this biography considers Madison’s life in the larger context of revolutionary and early America.
James Madison, Continental Congress, The Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The American Presidency
Readers interested in James Madison, the early American Presidency, and/or the founding of the United States.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful!.......2007-06-27
Rakove gives the reader a concise & readable account of the life of this central figure of the American founding. A breeze to read, but doesn't shortchange the reader in terms of insight & rigor. The capstone chapter "The Legacy of the Founder" is alone worth the price of the whole volume. For those interested in the creation of the Constitution, I would suggest reading this book after one of the shorter histories of the Constitutional Convention (I prefer Berkin's "A Brilliant Solution", but there are several very good ones out there), then turning to Rakove's magnificent "Original Meanings".
I need an advil.......2007-02-14
I had to read this for a college course. Now, I consider myself a well-read person. I have read Tolstoy, I have read Thackery. Neither of them made me want to smash my head against my desk to end the misery like this book did. If you are a die-hard James Madison fan, you just might enjoy this book. Otherwise, you just might end up like me, i.e. with a great need for headache medicine and possibly a match.
Biography of a Man and his Ideas.......2005-09-07
This short little book chronicles two things, though in sketches only: the life of James Madison and the story of his ideas. With this book Rakove does and excellent job of capturing both.
Rakove follows Madison through his service to the Virginia House, where he wrote a landmark bill separating church from state in his home state. After that we follow Madison to the Continental Congress and then the U.S. congress, where he takes the lead in drafting what would become the United States Constitution. Rakove then gives a tour of Madison's role in the early years of the Federal government, in the House and then as secretary of state and then president. While these were certainly tumultuous years, especially during the War of 1812, where there was legitimate concern about the survival of the Union, Madison was able to weather it all while holding close to his political principles.
These principles included an attachment to individual and minority rights and the preservation of the Federal Union above all. This little book gives and excellent depiction of those principles in action. I highly recommend it.
Fine book impossibly packaged.......2005-03-19
I never thought I would write something like this, but it must be said. I buy hundreds of books a year and this work was unique. A fine book fatally flawed in its physical execution, and monumentally overpriced. Rakov, Amazon, and publishers take note. This shameful 'product' might have been acceptable even with its extravagent price were it not for the disgraceful binding that ran the text into the tightly bound spine. Books are meant to read, not wrestled. I had to return my copy because of this bit of publishing garbage - which cost me the postage. Shame on you all.
A very well-written short biography of Madison.......2005-02-15
Initially, I had reservations about reading such a short book on such a complex and important figure as James Madison. Indeed, there are aspects of Madison's life that Rakove should have written more, particularly Madison's personal life and his famous, life-of-the-party wife, Dolly.
On the other hand, the book spends a lot of time on Madison's role during the Revolution and his role in creating the Constitution. Writing about these important subjects is potentially very difficult, very tedious and complex. And to his credit, Rakove does a good job making the pages easy to read and thoughtful.
The section on the War of 1812, which was conducted while Madison was president and almost ruined the country, was rivetting. I imagine a longer book would have spent even more time on this subject, not to take anything away from Rakove's coverage.
Ideally, Madison should be covered in a much more substantial book, like Ketcham's, but the reviews of Ketcham's book weren't all that good from Amazon readers, so I chose Rakove's book. It so happens, that hidden in the middle of a large list of sources at the end of his book, Rakove mentions that the Ketcham book is the best single volume work on Madison.
Additionaly, a docent at Mountpelier left a review of Ketcham's book saying that it is excellent. It is heavily used and bookmarked at Montpelier...so the Ketcham book is probably OK to read, if you want a more substantial read. It may even be excellent.
Lastly, Rakove's book was easy to read as a whole and relatively "complete". More importantly, even though some subjects could have been fleshed out more, the most important subjects were covered well. This wasn't a shallow book. There was a lot of primary source material that was very well integrated. It is a very well-written and researched book.
4 and 1/2 stars is probably more like it, but we'll round up to 5 based on quality.
Book Description
"Select the most deserving only for your friendships, and before this becomes intimate, weigh their dispositions and character well. True friendship is a plant of slow growth; to be sincere, there must be a congeniality of temper and pursuits." --George Washington
Although the friendship between George Washington and James Madison was eclipsed in the early 1790s by the alliances of Madison with Jefferson and Washington with Hamilton, their collaboration remains central to the constitutional revolution that launched the American experiment in republican government. Washington relied heavily on Madison's advice, pen, and legislative skill, while Madison found Washington's prestige indispensable for achieving his goals for the new nation. Together, Stuart Leibiger argues, Washington and Madison struggled to conceptualize a political framework that would respond to the majority without violating minority rights. Stubbornly refusing to sacrifice either of these objectives, they cooperated in helping to build and implement a powerful, extremely republican constitution.
Observing Washington and Madison in light of their special relationship, Leibiger argues against a series of misconceptions about the two men. Madison emerges as neither a strong nationalist of the Hamiltonian variety nor a political consolidationist; he did not retreat from nationalism to states' rights in the 1790s, as other historians have charged. Washington, far from being a majestic figurehead, exhibits a strong constitutional vision and firm control of his administration.
By examining closely Washington and Madison's correspondence and personal visits, Leibiger shows how a marriage of political convenience between two members of the Chesapeake elite grew into a genuine companionship fostered by historical events and a mutual interest in agriculture and science. The development of their friendship, and eventual estrangement, mirrors in fascinating ways the political development of the early Republic.
Customer Reviews:
An informative examination of the two key founders.......2001-03-11
Few books have treated this topic, Madison and Washington's collaboration, and this is an excellent treatment. Unravelling the waxing and waning of this relationship serves well those interested in the Federalist Era. The scholarship is obvious, and the presentaion is good. Those interested in the unfoldings of the Republic must pay attention to the Father of the Country, and his relationship to the Father of the Constituion. Liebiger allows an enormous view of Washington's dignity as a statesman, and Madison's erudition in the realm of Constituion building, amongst other federalist era realtionships, this collaboration was as crucial as any, and a topic long overdue.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Southern Historical Association on August 1, 2001. The length of the article is 659 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Founding Friendship: George Washington, James Madison, and the Creation of the American Republic.
Author: Jack N. Rakove
Publication:
Journal of Southern History (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2001
Publisher: Southern Historical Association
Volume: 67
Issue: 3
Page: 638
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
There must have been a Civilization One: a highly advanced precursor to what is currently the earliest recognized civilization. That’s the astounding revelation from a powerful duo of writers that includes the author of the bestselling The Hiram Key. Christopher Knight and Alan Butler’s startling conclusion comes from their quest to crack the mystery of the ancient "megalithic yard"—an incredibly precise unit of measurement that’s based on a deep understanding of the solar system. It seems beyond the comprehension of the supposedly unsophisticated people of Stone Age Britain, and yet not only is it visible in the thousands of megalithic structures built in Britain and France, but this measurement keeps recurring throughout nature and science. The implications of the authors’ breakthrough discovery go far beyond the idea of a super-science or prehistory: they indicate a grand plan that will have far-reading theological ramifications.
Customer Reviews:
An Important Chapter in Our History.......2007-10-06
I bought this book because the topic intrigued me. I was both relieved and pleased to read it as the information provides a rare new glimpse at our pre-modern history. I've never read information like this before, and I've read many, many books in this genre. The book is very well written, very easy to read (not too technical and a good writing style). The author is very conscious of carefuly backing up research claims so as to avoid appearing as a lunatic. All in all, an interesting, original, well documented work that should be part of the library of anyone interested in ancient Earth history.
Intriguing.......2006-04-21
I have to admit I have never read a book that covered the subject of measurements used by early civilizations that come to such incredible conclussions. If the authors are right, prehistoric people knew much more about astronomy than we give them credit for. These guys definately think outside the box.
simply a WOW.......2006-02-01
have read lots of book in this genre... hat's off to these guys... a masterwork that gives one pause to reconsider our place in history and how humankind perpetually thinks we are smarter than our ancestors... strong evidence for advanced and integrated thinkers long long ago... inspiring to say the least.
BO-RING!!!.......2005-11-07
I am an avid reader and love topics dealing with historic mysteries, as well as other various types of fiction and non-fiction. The writing in this book just plain sucks. It is laborious to read, and makes a fascinating subject matter completely uninteresting.
In addition to poor authoring, there is the matter of the poor scientific basis. Every other point they attempt to make is stated as 'we find this to be self evident' or 'we found it reasonable to assume that'. By all rights, circumstantial evidence should have been enough to convict O.J. However, in this case, then end result is an odor similar to that of the dairy farms south of Sacramento.
Our mysterious ancestors.......2005-07-18
This fascinating book of alternative history examines the evidence of weights and measures and comes to the conclusion that there must have been an advanced culture in prehistory. The structures of the Stone Age were built by using a very precise unit of measurement, called the megalithic yard. The book explores the science behind prehistoric units, their mathematical origin and means of reproduction, and proves that these are linked to the dimensions of the solar system.
The reader must have a basic knowledge of arithmetic but overall the book is an easy read and very revealing. Amongst the topics discussed are writing, Egypt, Sumeria, the Minoan foot, solar and sidereal days, pendulums and the importance of the planet Venus. It turns out that the British Pound and Pint are both derived from ancient measurements. The units of the hour, minute and second were developed more than 4000 years ago, from the movements of the moon.
The text also encompasses subjects like the harmony of the spheres, Sumerian degrees and the calendar, and explains that the metric system is not a recent invention. There is a section on Thomas Jefferson and his achievements; this great man apparently realized that he was rediscovering parts of a very ancient system.
Amongst the most captivating sections is the chapter on music and light. There is a definite correspondence between the rotating mass of our planet and human music. Also, megalithic mathematics produces its own musical structure. The authors conclude that there must have been an advanced people who instructed the rest of the world in science and technology. They also refer to the Masonic concept of the Great Architect of the Universe.
There are seven appendices that include further information on earth days and the megalithic year, megalithic music, the Phaistos Disc, the amazing barley seed, and the connection between megalithic principles and Freemasonry. The colour plates include approximately 20 full colour photographs and there are many black and white illustrations throughout the text. The book concludes with an index.
I also recommend Lost Civilisations Of The Stone Age by Richard Rudgley, Stone Age Soundtracks by Paul Devereux, and Forbidden Archaeology by Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Skeptic (Altadena, CA), published by Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine on January 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1187 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Connecting the dots to nowhere.(Civilization One: The World is not As You Thought it Was)(Book Review)
Author: Jason Colavito
Publication:
Skeptic (Altadena, CA) (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2005
Publisher: Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine
Volume: 11
Issue: 3
Page: 94(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Ok, but not excellent.......2003-03-07
I'm an upper level French student, and this was the anthology used in one of my classes. I've found that there's a wide variety of authors, although from what I understand, this was not true of past editions which excluded women writers. More importantly, there's a variety of genres, including plays and poetry as well as the typical novels. Sadly, in some cases the works showcased are not necessarily the authors' most important works, which bothers me a bit. There's certain texts that you think would be necessary for students of French literature to read that are sadly absent. This may simply be because I'm judging the popularity of texts from an American perspective while in France they have very different ideas of what's necessary. . .
The thing that bothered me the most, however, was that this is intended for survey classes and touches on each author and work only very briefly. This is not so much a problem with the poetry as with the novels and plays. I wasn't able to develop an interest for any of these works because there are only excerpts. The rest of the novel is, more often than not, summed up in less than three sentences. The excerpts are fine for pointing outthe stylistic details of the writing, but it doesn't allow the student to invest in the characters or the plot. In other French lit survey classes I've taken, the professor did require us to read a few complete novels or chose short stories and novellas, rather than excerpts from books. I found that to be more effective and did a better job of inspiring me to look up other works by those authors.
On a final note, it seems that some of the footnotes are inaccurate or reflect unpopular interpretations. Many times my professor instructed us to disregard Leggewie's comments. For instance, Leggewie claims Rene by Chateaubriand is autobiographical, when most critics think Cb intended it as fiction. Tread carefully.
Average customer rating:
- Great Survey of Utopian Literature & Ideals
- Wow! Who would have thought!
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More's Utopia and Utopian Literature (Cliffs Notes)
Harold M. Priest
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ASIN: 0822013185 |
Book Description
The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.
In CliffsNotes on Utopia & Utopian Literature, you discover the Utopian movement that Thomas More helped usher in with his complex work, Utopia. In the book, More tells of a debate between three characters (himself being one of the characters) on how 16th-century society can be improved to eliminate the corruptions and inequities of life.
Summaries and commentaries take you through the book, and critical essays help you understand the Utopian theme and the impact of Utopia on literature. Other features that help you study include
- A section on the life and background of Thomas More
- A section on the historical background of the book
- Critical essays on the composition of Utopia and how the book relates to Communism
- Review questions and essay topics
- A selected bibliography
Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.
Customer Reviews:
Great Survey of Utopian Literature & Ideals.......2005-01-29
Why in the world am I reviewing a set of Cliff notes? Mainly because I was intrigued & impressed by the sections devoted to the history of the utopian literature genre. Those sections, which gave a historical and literary context to More's work, made reading these notes very worthwhile. Of course these notes also cover the standard topics you'd expect from the Cliff Notes series, such as the chapter-by-chapter summary of "Utopia" and a biography of Sir Thomas More. But I think the notes' broader survey of utopian ideals that makes them interesting. They show us how the theme appears in everything from Plato's Republic to Gulliver's Travels to Russian Communism and elsewhere. And of course, since they're Cliff notes, they're a quick read.
Two-thirds of the notes are devoted to analyzing More's book, which was first published in 1516. More was the first to coin the term "utopia", which literally means nowhere. He describes a fictional society where people work 5 hour workdays, mostly in the trades. They relax with reading, lectures, and parlor games. They are under benevolent rule by carefully selected officials of superior intelligence and integrity. They use uniform, unpretentious clothing and housing, and dine in communal dining halls. There is no money or private property; every man works for the good of the community, rather than just himself. Each is free from anxieties, knowing he is rich in the sense he owns his share of everything.
The notes go on to discuss how some have tried to bring utopian ideals to the real world. For example, the Fourierism movement 1830's and 1840's created many experimental communities in the US. These communities had emphasized joint labor, the communal raising of children, simplicity, uniformity of dress, pacifism, rigid codes of behavior, and rule by wise elders as officials. There's also a section in the notes on the relationship of Utopia to Communism; the two are of course similar, but definitely not identical.
The notes also cover the anti-utopias described in 1984 and Brave New World. The societies in both these novels are dysfunctional, though in different ways. In 1984, as you probably remember, the population is ruled by force - a totalitarian political party controls the masses through propaganda, surveillance cameras, secret police, and torture. There are historical parallels here to Stalinist Russia, or WWII Germany. In contrast, Brave New World is about ruling the population through pleasures; universal happiness is provided through elaborate sports, entertainment, and ritualized social activities as well as happiness-inducing drugs. Social stability is maintained through a class system created through selective artificial gestation & elaborate psychological conditioning so people accept their roles and get along with others. Some say that the "Brave New World" reflects some features that are found in today's capitalistic societies.
Overall, though, I thought the sections of these notes about the literary history of the Utopian theme, as well as the real-world examples of utopian communities, were even more interesting than the sections devoted to More's Utopia itself. If those themes seem interesting to you, then by all means pick up a copy of these notes & read the ~25 pages devoted to those topics.
Wow! Who would have thought!.......2000-08-25
I wrote my senior thesis on Utopia and The Republic, illustrating the common theme of what makes a Utopian culture. Believe it or not, the Cliffs Notes had the most original and best thought out analysis that I read, AND BELIEVE ME I read a lot on Utopian Literature. If you are reading Utopia, I suggest the Cliffs Notes.
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|
The Utopian Vision: Seven Essays on the Quincentennial of Sir Thomas Moore
E. D. Sullivan
Manufacturer: University Publishing Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0916304515 |
Book Description
Since the paradisal yearnings of ancient Sumeria, the concept of utopia has persisted as a symbol of hope. These essays provide a broad spread of perspectives on the ways the utopian vision has appeared, ranging from the "heavenly garden" of the ancient Near East, through Sir Thomas More's "Utopia" and the idealized societies of feminist science fiction, to the utopian/dystopian expressions of Kurt Vonnegut. "The Utopian Vision" is enhanced by a fully annotated bibliography of more than 500 works by utopian authors or on aspects of utopia. Originally published in 1983.
Customer Reviews:
Not all that fun.......2000-05-14
I was in Western Michigan University's Waldo Library to find material on several books that dealt with the utopian/dystopian ideals. This was something I found. It was okay, but I wouldn't read it for fun.
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English Plague and New World Promise(*).: An article from: Utopian Studies
Rebecca Totaro
Manufacturer: Society for Utopian Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B00098ZAE4
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Utopian Studies, published by Society for Utopian Studies on January 1, 1999. The length of the article is 6157 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: The appearance of plagues in utopian writings is examined, focusing on the works of Francis Bacon, Thomas More, Margaret Cavendish, and Cotton Mather. Topics include medical treatments during the bubonic plague, the relationship among belief in God, sin and disease, and the difference between a pure natural environment and a pure human being.
Citation Details
Title: English Plague and New World Promise(*).
Author: Rebecca Totaro
Publication:
Utopian Studies (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1999
Publisher: Society for Utopian Studies
Volume: 10
Issue: 1
Page: 1
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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The Utopian Thought of St. Thomas More and Its Development in Literature
Mardelle L. Fortier , and
Robert F. Fortier
Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
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ASIN: 0773496114 |
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Utopia
St. Thomas More
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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ASIN: B000LY2GDY |
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Published by Yale University, these selected works of St. Thomas More are edited with introduction and notes by Edward Surtz. Thomas More's Utopia, from its first appearance in 1516, has been one of the germinal works in Western Thought and remains even today stimulating and constroversial. Notes in this volume are provided as explanatory comments on the text. The accuracy of the translation ensures that the volume can be used by the historian, literary scholar, the social and political scientist, and the student of utopian thought.
Customer Reviews:
Ward's right wonderful.......2005-02-14
Anyone who can look at bird tracks in the mud and think that this is how we invented writing is OK by me.
With none of the shrillness that you get from--oh, Greenpeace.
I've read some of his stuff in tomdispatch, (some of which has been adapted from this book) am not disappointed here.
Engaging and memorable.......2004-07-29
Hope's Horizon is an engaging reading experience and if you have never read a book on environmental issues, this may be a good place to start. It is hard to sugar coat the environmental problems we face and Ward doesn't do that although there is wit and humor,too. Rather, the author wants to inspire by telling stories of groups and indiviuals who don't accept the normal limits and are forging ahead with projects that are bold, visionary, and instructive. Terry Tempest Williams calls Chip Ward "one of the smartest, wittiest, and most truthful voices writing in America" and says he has identified a failure of empathy and imagination at the heart of our environmental crises. That's a good summary of his underlying point of view.
The book is arranged in three parts dealing with a new paradigm for conservation, the movement to remove dams, and the struggle to keep nuclear waste off of the West's deserts. It is really three books in one and you can read them out of order depending on your interest and they still make sense. The writing is lyrical and memorable - a worthy successor to his classic book, "Canaries on the Rim."
Funny, Sad, a little Incomplete........2004-07-01
This is a book I find very amusing - the writing style is just great, even the saddest, most trajic subjects are trreated with humor. Who can ignore a chapter entitled 'First, they killed John Wayne'. And the chapter is on the radiation problems in Southern Utah from the above ground nuclear tests.
This is a book I find very sad - 80% of the cast of the movie 'The Conqueror' (starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan) died of cancer, perhaps from filming down wind of the nuclear tests. But this testing was fifty years ago. Eventually the governments of the world got together and ended such testing.
This is a book that I find incomplete. Yes, anyone in their right mind would be opposed to having a nuclear waste storage area or a chemical weapons incinerator in their back yards. But what I don't hear is an alternative. There's a nuclear power station in New York, just 30 miles up the Hudson from New York City. Do we just leave the stuff there as an inviting target for another World Trade Center type attack. What would an airplane crashing into the storage area do? Or, do we leave the chemical munitions, now old and leaking in storage areas just off the end of the runway in Denver waiting for an airplane to land short.
I rate this book quite highly, it's well worth your time to help understand the problems. I'd also like to see a couple of chapters on solutions, not just on the problems.
Inspiring and well written.......2004-04-23
I picked this book up, hot off the press, at a conference on wilderness at the University of Utah. I couldn't put it down. Unlike so many other books on environmental issues that are either dry or grim, this one is lively, witty, colorful, and lyrical. Above all, it is inspiring. People who care about the quality of life on earth get caught up playing defense, so it is refreshing to hear about those who have bold and proactive ideas who are going forward. I like it when an author makes me see the world differently and this book did that. Ward's first book, "Canaries on the Rim," is a gem - a classic - that never got the attention it deserves. I hope this one is widely read.
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