Empire of Liberty

A History of the Early Republic

By: Gordon S. Wood

Narrated by: Robert Fass

Length: 30 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

In Empire of Liberty, one of America's most esteemed historians, Gordon S. Wood, offers a brilliant account of the early American Republic, ranging from 1789 and the beginning of the national government to the end of the War of 1812.

As Wood reveals, the period was marked by tumultuous change in all aspects of American life - in politics, society, economy, and culture. The men who founded the new government had high hopes for the future, but few of their hopes and dreams worked out quite as they expected. They hated political parties but parties nonetheless emerged. Some wanted the United States to become a great fiscal-military state, like those of Britain and France; others wanted the country to remain a rural agricultural state very different from the European states. Instead, by 1815 the United States became something neither group anticipated. Named a New York Times Notable Book, Empire of Liberty, part of The Oxford History of the United States series, offers a marvelous account of this pivotal era when America took its first unsteady steps as a new and rapidly expanding nation.

The Oxford History of the United States is considered the gold standard for serious historians and general readers (and listeners) alike. Three of the titles have won the Pulitzer Prize for history; two have been Pulitzer Prize finalists, and all of them have enjoyed critical and commercial success.

Please note: The individual volumes of the series have not been published in historical order. Empire of Liberty is number IV in The Oxford History of the United States.

Listen to more of the definitive Oxford History of the United States.

©2009 Gordon S. Wood (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner - Best History Audiobook, 2011

Lucid, balanced narrative of the first twenty-five years of the early republic.

Gordon Wood has perfect pitch as a historian. His profound understanding of the era of the American Revolution is carried forward with his foray into the early days of the republic.

Outstanding context on US history

Bottom line, this book provides an exceptional insight into the culture and politics of a burgeoning nation, and it goes a long way to explaining the foundations of much of what we see around us today. It is well written, impeccably organized, and if you don't learn a thing or two about the country after finishing, you might just be the author.

My main contention with the book is that is not a linear narrative, it is organized into a series of topics meant to lay out a comprehensive cultural mosaic, and skips around a lot in painting its picture. To this end it is quite effective, but at the expense of consistent and compelling story. That is, there is nothing passive about this listen, you have to pay constant and close attention to fully appreciate it, less so than you would if it were told as a chronological account with emphasis on the significance of individual events.

That said, it is hard to understate the comprehensive nature of the cultural understanding conveyed in this book. Upon finishing, you will intimately know the people of the late 18th / early 19th century, at all social strata. It is truly a magnificent work.

Terrific History!

This book will undoubtedly give you a new perspective on how America became America. Beautiful history addressing so many aspects of who we are, and how we got to be this way. This is a tremendously readable and interesting history, and should be required reading for anyone who wants to engage in political, social or economic policy debates in America as we know her today.

Probably not for general interest

Is there anything you would change about this book?

No, but buyers must note that it deals with a very specialised field, namely a brief period in American history. American history buffs might enjoy it much more.

What was most disappointing about Gordon S. Wood’s story?

I thought that often there were too many examples of the point the author was trying to make, which resulted in a measure of tedium. One then struggled not to put the book down.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The performance is fine, but rather bland.

Did Empire of Liberty inspire you to do anything?

No

Extraordinary

A book I will never cease to consult as the best single volume on the Federalist and early Democratic Republican years. Bravo!

Informative, Fascinating, and Hard to Stick with

What made the experience of listening to Empire of Liberty the most enjoyable?

The amount of information is amazing, and the multitude of revelations I had about current economics and politics that started from this time in American History was like wave after wave of intellectual bliss. I learned so much from.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The author was not able to relate facts in an easy to follow way/ He would often jump 10 years, forward and backward, for a sentence and then return to whatever time was being discussed; while I am all for this as a way to provide context, the author mishandles is by not being clear about which timeline is being discussed and also the number of times he skips timelines becomes occasionally confusing.

Have you listened to any of Robert Fass’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

n/a

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Sheer joy at learning so much.
Growing boredom at ineffective storytelling

wow

The book is incredible. Staggering amount of detail and insight. Lost me a bit in the section about religions. Overall, very thorough and interesting book.
Will probably listen again.

Full Meal Deal

Would you listen to Empire of Liberty again? Why?

Someday, there is so much information in this book. No idea what a struggle it was to pull together the identity of the US as known today. It could have gone in much different directions. Jefferson hated the idea of banking, big government and huge military power.

What other book might you compare Empire of Liberty to and why?

Books from The Great Courses.

Have you listened to any of Robert Fass’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is not that kind of book. You tend to shake your head. There was every kind of evil imaginable and a powerful mission to create a country based on honour, dignity and civility.

Any additional comments?

It is important to recall how delicate our present civilization is. It balances on weak pedestals and could topple far easier then the average person can conceive.

A Dynamic View of The Early Days of Our Republic

Gordon S. Wood has written one of the best historical works of all time. Historical understanding of our culture and the development of our Republic is often a dreary subject that many of us think only in terms of days and dates and the chronological view of events that shaped our nation. Wood does not bore the reader with any of these often repeated events that often were not critically important to this new experiment. America is not the first Republic, however it may survive because of open communication between nations. The fact that Americans became readers and writers of letters spread information across the continent as the Republic expanded.

Great Perspective on the Founding of the USA

Very in depth perspective of our first 5 decades and some surprising views of the founding fathers. Easy to listen to throughout.