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In this authoritative and engrossing full-scale biography, Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of Einstein and Steve Jobs, shows how the most fascinating of America's founders helped define our national character.
Benjamin Franklin is the founding father who winks at us, the one who seems made of flesh rather than marble. In a sweeping narrative that follows Franklin's life from Boston to Philadelphia to London and Paris and

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On August 16, 1824, an elderly French gentlemen sailed into New York Harbor and giddy Americans were there to welcome him. Or, rather, to welcome him back. It had been 30 years since the Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette had last set foot in the United States, and he was so beloved that 80,000 people showed up to cheer for him. The entire population of New York at the time was 120,000. Lafayette's arrival in 1824 coincided with one of...

Supported by a wealth of original sources?newspapers, letters, diaries, pamphlets?Madison and Jefferson is a stunning new look at a remarkable duo who arguably did more than all the others in their generation to set the course of American political development. It untangles a rich legacy, explaining how history made Jefferson into a national icon, leaving Madison a relative unknown. It tells nasty truths about the conduct of politics when America...

Explores the life of the third president, from his childhood in Virginia, through his involvement in the Revolutionary War, to his years in office.

Biography of British West Indies born Alexander Hamilton, who was a man of action, also honorable, ambitious and loyal to his adopted country the United States.

While our new nation was suffering attacks from both within and without, John Adams had a vision of a nation of liberty and justice for all. He guided his peers--General George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson--in setting the values and agenda for a glorious, free America. Adams and his wife Abigail refined these ambitious democratic ideals, and their partnership became one of the most moving love stories in American history.

From the first shots fired at Lexington to the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase, Joseph J. Ellis guides us through the decisive issues of the nation's founding, and illuminates the emerging philosophies, shifting alliances, and personal and political foibles of our now iconic leaders–Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Adams. He casts an incisive eye on the founders' achievements,...

Gordon Wood depicts not just a break with England, but the rejection of an entire way of life. A society with feudal dependencies, a politics of patronage, and a world view in which people were divided between the nobility and 'the Herd.' He shows how the theories of the country's founders became realities that sometimes baffled and disappointed them.

Discusses the circumstances preceding and following the writing of the Declaration of Independence and describes how it was written, approved, and announced.

"Presents the Declaration of Independence in both its original version and in a translated version using everyday language. Describes the events that led to the creation of the document and its significance through history"--Provided by publisher.