Madison's Gift

Five Partnerships That Built America

By: David Stewart

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Short, plain, balding, neither soldier nor orator, low on charisma and high on intelligence, Madison cared more about achieving results than taking the credit. To reach his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic, he blended his talents with those of key partners. It was Madison who led the drive for the Constitutional Convention and pressed for an effective new government as his patron, George Washington, lent the effort legitimacy; Madison who wrote the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton to secure the Constitution's ratification; Madison who corrected the greatest blunder of the Constitution by drafting and securing passage of the Bill of Rights with Washington's support; Madison who joined Thomas Jefferson to found the nation's first political party and move the nation toward broad democratic principles; Madison, with James Monroe, who guided the new nation through its first war in 1812, really its Second War of Independence; and it was Madison who handed the reins of government to the last of the Founders, his old friend and sometime rival Monroe.

These were the main characters in his life. But it was his final partnership that allowed Madison to escape his natural shyness and reach the greatest heights. Dolley was the woman he married in middle age and who presided over both him and an enlivened White House. This partnership was a love story, a unique one that sustained Madison through his political rise, his presidency, and a fruitful retirement.

©2015 Originial Material. Recorded by arrangement with David O. Stewart c/o Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Grover Gardner's animated narration makes the material come alive in ways the printed word can't.... The book is a fascinating examination of the making of the modern United States, and Gardner does the work justice." ( AudioFile)

The gift to our heritage

It another good book about our country and make one wonder of our country and how it was formed and the reason for it. The disagreement each member has but stilled moved forward for the common good.

The Founding Father's Gift: Our Country!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

IF you are really interested in history and that of the Founding Fathers of our Country then you should really enjoy this book.

A good summary of the high-minded Madison

While no military leader or frontier explorer, Madison was clearly a devoted, deep scholar of the human condition of liberty. He was more complex, given his views of freedom and his ownership of slaves for his entire life. The author did a great scholastic job of revealing Madison's thinking on both topics through Madison's writing. This approach is a relief, given today's level of uneducated and irrational protests against leaders of that era. This book summarizes Madison's accomplishments well, though I was surprised at how brief his post-presidency accplishments were covered. There was also less discussion of how integrated Dolly Madison was in his achievements. Instead, a separate chapter summarizes her contributions. I guess that was a writer's choice.

Nevertheless, this book is a very well constructed story and is easy to listen to and learn from.

Fantastic

The narration was second to none. The prose, though not the easiest to follow and remember for my chronologically oriented brain, as the book is divided into segments based on Madison's relationships rather than on sequence if events, was very engrossing. Helping the enjoyment was dry humor peppered throughout the book. I found myself laughing aloud, followed by self conscious scanning of my environment to see if anyone thought I were crazy. Something that helped me remember the plot if his life was the periodical repetition of an event, sometimes through the lens of a different relationship
Very enjoyable.

One of my favorite books

Good treatment of the issue of slavery and Madison’s conflict about it; the “horror” of it and his inability to do anything about it...