James Madison

There are those who speak and write of the Founding Fathers as if they determinedly soared above the gravitational pull of politics and ambition. This book offers further reminders of the wrongheadedness of that assumption. Madison was the consummate political operative and played a seminal role in developing our political party system. That insight alone makes this book worth knowing.

As I traveled with and through this book I learned about Madison???s backstage maneuvering to instigate the Constitutional Convention. I discovered more about his connections to Washington and Jefferson???whom he admired???and his interactions with Hamilton and Monroe???with whom he occasionally found common ground. How his gift for studied political action influenced his relationships with these other Founders is the truly fascinating core of this book

The narrator never slowed my listening and took a perfect tone???scholarly but secretly entertained by the twists of President Madison???s story. As a result, I was informed and entranced and sorry to hear Madison???s life come to an end.

This book covers the career of James Madison from the working on the Constitution through his presidency. The story gives an overview of the forming of the government. Brookhiser gave Alexander Hamilton excellent marks for how he created the Treasury Dept and how the federal monies flowed. Madison and Hamilton did not agree on forming the U.S. Bank. Brookhiser indicated that Madison was mentored by Jefferson and they had a life long friendship. The major concern of the book was politics and that Madison was one of the best at playing politics. Apparently from all the work Madison did on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights he became a pro getting committee member to get the work done. The book slowed down a few times but overall was interesting. Norman Dietz did a good job narrating the book.

This book is sometimes miscast as a biography, which, in my opinion, it is not. A biography tells the life story of its subject. The best ones, such as Ellis' and Chernow's biographies of Washington, Chernow's biography of Hamilton, and Isaacson's biography of Einstein show how their beliefs developed and show continuity or explain their changes in attitude. This book is more closely related to Jon Meacham's "American Lion" about Andrew Jackson in that it really only covers their public life after they entered onto the national stage.

With that caveat in mind this is a worthwhile read/listen. While it doesn't give any real particular insights into Madison's character than can be gleaned from other readings it does give enough of a twist to them to make them not just a restatement of things others have said.

Odd feature: I think I heard several times where the reader (and author?) made a simple mistake in their dates. At one point I thought I heard the reader say that "In 1971 Jefferson and Madison were..." Clearly the date is wrong and when I simply made it 1771 it made perfect sense. There were at least 3-4 occasions where this happened. It is kind of frustrating to have to change the reader's words in your mind while you listen, though.

The history of how we came to be from a political point of view.

Liberty & Tyranny by Mark Levine

Washing turning down the offer to be King and not accepting a third term as President. Washington walked away from power.

No.

It was sometimes tedious to listen to, but the history was more than I could have hoped for. Why in the world do they not teach this stuff in school.

ps I went to a private school, but it was very, very progressive. Yikes!

James Madison is one of those figures who seem to always be at the edge in discussions about historical characters. Some may know of him as the “Father of the Constitution” or as the fourth President of the United States. Few actually know much about the man himself. In this biography Richard Brookhiser seeks to show us that character.

Madison was a small man, barely five feet tall, leaving him dwarfed by the tall Virginians George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. He was not a powerful speaker, but he was a man with a great mind and an attention for details. He was the driving force behind the creation of the Constitution of the United States. He was the creator of the first political party in the United States. He was a junior partner in a lifelong political coalition with Thomas Jefferson, but he was never Jefferson’s inferior. He was not without his flaws and neither is this book. Brookhiser tends towards imbalance when discussing Madison’s political foes. Madison was a man who saw conspiracy around a lot of corners. Brookhiser gives this too much credence. For example he makes men like Alexander Hamilton and John Adams look like they were trying to subvert Constitution and create a monarchy. This is patently absurd.

The book itself is well written and easy to read. Be sure that if you read this book you balance it out with others about the period. I would also recommend Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis, Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow, John Adams by David McCullough, and Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham.

political career, although it could have used more information about the life and background of James Madison. The author seems to have missed some of the details which I have noted in other presidential biographies. He didn't explain the background for the Jackson-led defense during the British and Indian war of 1812, and seemed to often fault the well-informed opinions of folks such as Jefferson. Nonetheless, there is much said here about Madison, Jefferson and Monroe's legislation and the thinking behind it. Maybe a good first book about this president.

This biography of James Madison reminds us that politics has not changed much in the 200 plus years of our existence. The story reads more like a story than a collection of facts.