Reviews

Madison and Jefferson by Nancy Isenberg, Andrew Burstein

doctortdm's review against another edition

3.0

Well written, interesting, could have benefited from some further editing as minutiae hampered the rhythm.

evamadera1's review against another edition

4.0

I absolutely loved this book. I found it quite refreshing to dive into this brilliant work of historiography after the cluster that is "Gone Girl." In fact, I enjoyed the book so much that my slower pace so that I could savor the pages almost meant that I ran out of time in 2018 to finish!

The partnership of Jefferson and Madison is one that almost anyone in America knows thanks to history books, and Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" of course. However, I knew little of the intimacies of the actual partnership and the relationship of these two men. The two authors, Burstein and Isenberg (somehow Goodreads leaves off the female author? hmm...), weave a narrative that shows no hint of dual authorship, a cohesive narrative that draws the reader into the intricacies that come with fighting a revolution through the written word, politics, and much more, establishing a government and forging a legacy.

For any person remotely interested in American history of any time, especially the Revolutionary and Early National Era, I highly recommend this book.

speljamr's review against another edition

5.0

This book exposes and explores what could easily be considered one of the most important political friendships in all of American history. 'Madison and Jefferson' does a splendid job of showing how these two gentlemen worked closely together throughout the beginnings of the United States, from the revolutionary days to the War of 1812.

To start with, the title of the book intentionally lists Madison first and throughout the book does much to bring to light this often misunderstood founder who many think of as uninteresting. Nothing could be further from the truth. The authors show that Madison did indeed have a rather interesting personality that is often ignored. But, the authors spend equal time on Jefferson, discussing the often touted intellect as well as his less talked about weaknesses. The friendship between these two is almost unbreakable throughout their history, but it is not without disagreements between the two.

The narrative that goes through the timeline of Madison and Jefferson is very engaging; at no point was I ever bored with it as can sometimes be the case with more dryly written biographies. And because the book is split up into very distinct periods, it was easy to pick back up if I had to put it down for a while.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who studies or has an interest in the founding of our nation, particularly these two individuals. You'll also find plenty of information about other founding fathers and the perspective that Madison and Jefferson held on them; I think I found this to be the most interesting part of this dual biography.

kushreads's review

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

jameseckman's review

4.0

A great look at two of our founding fathers, much more sophisticated and less worshipful than early versions. Madison and Jefferson are two contrasting characters that play well against each other. While still not my favorites among the founders, an important pair in early American politics.