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Title details for American Creation by Joseph J. Ellis - Available

American Creation

Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic

by Joseph J. Ellis
John H. Mayer
Audiobook
3 of 4 copies available
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3 of 4 copies available
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, arguing that the American Revolution was, paradoxically, an evolution–and that part of what made it so extraordinary was the gradual pace at which it occurred. He explains how the idea of a strong federal government was eventually embraced by the American people and details the emergence of the two-party system, which stands as the founders’ most enduring legacy.
Ellis is equally incisive about their failures, and he makes clear how their inability to abolish slavery and to reach a just settlement with the Native Americans has played an equally important role in shaping our national character. With eloquence and insight, Ellis strips the mythic veneer of the revolutionary generation to reveal men both human and inspired, possessed of both brilliance and blindness. AMERICAN CREATION is an audiobook that delineates an era of flawed greatness, at a time when understanding our origins is more important than ever.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 30, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415942772
      • File size: 315668 KB
      • Duration: 10:57:38

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The Founding Fathers were living, breathing, complex, sometimes very flawed individuals who lived in extraordinary times. With an upbeat, intelligent, and conversational tone, narrator John Mayer takes listeners on an eye-opening, anecdote-filled journey through America's political beginnings by examining the evolving philosophies and swaying alliances of five key players--Washington, Adams, Madison, Hamilton, and Jefferson. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Joseph Ellis finds their efforts often brilliant (the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the balance between state and Federal sovereignty) and sometimes devastatingly tragic (their inability to abolish slavery and unwillingness to treat Native Americans fairly). In these essays we learn that history is an entertaining, informative, ongoing conversation. B.P. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 4, 2007
      This subtle, brilliant examination of the period between the War of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase puts Pulitzer-winner Ellis (Founding Brothers
      ) among the finest of America's narrative historians. Six stories, each centering on a significant creative achievement or failure, combine to portray often flawed men and their efforts to lay the republic's foundation. Set against the extraordinary establishment of “the most liberal nation-state in the history of Western Civilization... in the most extensive and richly endowed plot of ground on the planet” are the terrible costs of victory, including the perpetuation of slavery and the cruel oppression of Native Americans. Ellis blames the founders' failures on their decision to opt for an evolutionary revolution, not a risky severance with tradition (as would happen, murderously, in France, which necessitated compromises, like retaining slavery). Despite the injustices and brutalities that resulted, Ellis argues, “this deferral strategy” was “a profound insight rooted in a realistic appraisal of how enduring social change best happens.” Ellis's lucid, illuminating and ironic prose will make this a holiday season hit.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 29, 2007
      Mayer employs the same mellow, experienced tone he successfully used recently on Empire of Blue Water and Mellon: An American Life. His familiar voice lends itself nicely to Ellis's sweeping tale of America's evolution from the first shots fired at Lexington and Concord in 1775 to the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. As the story takes us through the many battles, negotiations and personality conflicts of this tumultuous quarter century-some of which have been largely forgotten in the romanticized versions of our nation's early history-listeners can settle in to Mayer's easy, silken tenor as he describes how these formative events unfolded. Ellis spends considerable time critiquing the shortsightedness and racism that prevented the founders from resolving the slavery question or dealing equitably with Native Americans. Mayer's reading keeps pace with the shifting tones of Ellis's narrative, by turns admiring and critical. Mayer's memorable rendition of Ellis's story manages to be avuncular yet brisk. Simultaneous release with the Knopf hardcover (Reviews, June 4).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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