Mar. 16, 2009 - Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different Book Review
Pulitzer Prize winner Gordon S. Wood compellingly argues that the very qualities which made our founders unique and inimitable for today's culture are the same characteristics that were rendering them obsolete even within their own lifetimes.
Intrigued? You will enjoy this exploration of the tension between elitism and democracy. Was Aaron Burr's real sin that he betrayed class?
Wood's book gives no stale restatements of historical fact. He assumes readers possess some intimate prior knowledge of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, Adams, Paine and Burr. Even without this, readers will understand and enjoy the book, but the fullest meaning reveals itself to those who already possess a firm biographical grasp of the characters. If you're like me--somewhat middlin' on some of these guys--it will spark your curiosity to deepen your own knowledge by picking up a more traditional biography on some to fill in gaps.
While it's not an easy book, it does hold one's interest. And devoting a separate chapter to each character makes it a good book for those of us who often can read only in snatches. I wouldn't put Wood in the must read category of Ron Chernow or David McCullough's history, but he comes close.
Blessings, Holly
