Jack N. Rakove

This is a very interesting and useful book that is unfortunately marred by being housed in a poor e-book edition. For example, the e-book edition does not include any illustrations. Where there is supposed to be an illustration, it includes a note telling you to see the print edition. Also, as an annotation of these key documents, it includes each section of the document only after the annotations for the text. It would be more useful to have the text first followed by the annotations. Finally, the original and the annotations are distinguished from another by use of different fonts resulting in an unpleasant optical experience. This book would be rated much higher if it had a better e-book editor. My recommendation would be for people to read the print edition.

Although the annotated version is over 350 pages, I felt hungry to know more about each article and how it came to be.… (mehr)

This was a thorough account of how provincial colonists became revolutionaries. I highly recommend it
for all citizens of our country. My favorite part is the last chapter, which details the rise of political parties, due to the animosity between Jefferson and Hamilton. It is rich in detail and well- written.
Although written by a renowned historian, it is not just for history buffs! As a teacher of history, I plan to keep this book at hand in the classroom for easy reference.
And as good books usually do, it has inspired me to further exploration of our founding fathers' lives. I have added biographies of Jefferson, Hamilton, the Adamses to my "to read" shelf.… (mehr)