swimmermom3 Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Ds and I are really enjoying our trip through U.S. History and U.S. Government. Currently we are watching the John Adams mini series, which I know is not terribly accurate in places. Can anyone recommend some high quality biographies of the Founding Fathers? I am not looking for "George Washington was perfect" types of biographies, but in those that are solidly researched and that reflect the real person, as best as we can know this far removed. We are curious about Abigail Adams too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 Ds15 and I have really enjoyed biographies from the Signature Lives series. Our library has quite a few, but I'm not sure if that series has any of the people you're looking for, though. Ds has read more of them than I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 It's not a biography per se, but I highly recommend The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams. It's a fascinating read and provides so many interesting details of their lives and insights into their thoughts and feelings, all in their own words. It really gives you the sense of 'getting inside their heads," iykwim, compared to reading a biography where the details have been selected and filtered by someone writing 200+ years later. We loved it! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I really enjoyed Founding Brothers and American Sphinx, both by Joseph Ellis. Founding Brothers is especially well done; one of the best books on the American Revolutionary period that I've ever read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 I happened to come across this interesting (and disturbing) article about Jefferson's treatment of his slaves in a recent issue of Smithsonian Magazine: The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I happened to come across this interesting (and disturbing) article about Jefferson's treatment of his slaves in a recent issue of Smithsonian Magazine: The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson Interesting reading...thanks for the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaderbee Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I thought Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution was fantastic, though she's not a founding father. I listened to Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow to prepare for history last year. It is well done. Chernow does not gloss over Washington's blemishes of character. I would also say that much of the information is presented in such a way that it sparks debate about Washington's decisions instead of telling the reader what to think. DH and I discussed Washington's actions towards his slaves and towards Lafayette quite a bit while listening to this book. It's also touching. I cried through a couple of spots and remember being completely sick to my stomach listening to one section about Washington in Philadelphia. I recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purduemeche Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 I really enjoyed Founding Brothers and American Sphinx, both by Joseph Ellis. Founding Brothers is especially well done; one of the best books on the American Revolutionary period that I've ever read. Amen! Founding Brothers was so, so wonderful. John Adams by David McCullough was my introduction to well-done biography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Amen! Founding Brothers was so, so wonderful. John Adams by David McCullough was my introduction to well-done biography. I second the John Adams bio by David McCullough. I loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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