
James Madison
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Narrated by:
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Norman Dietz
About this listen
Eminent historian Richard Brookhiser presents a vivid portrait of James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution” and one of America's greatest statesmen.
©2011 Richard Brookhiser (P)2011 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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In this lively and compelling biography, Harlow Giles Unger reveals the dominant political figure of a generation. A fierce fighter in four critical Revolutionary War battles and a courageous survivor of Valley Forge and a near-fatal wound at the Battle of Trenton, James Monroe (1751 - 1831) went on to become America's first full-time politician, dedicating his life to securing America's national and international durability.
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Readable, but more hero worship than history
- By Elaine Martin on 12-22-10
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Martin Van Buren
- America's First Politician
- By: James M. Bradley
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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This new biography of Van Buren—the first full-scale portrait in four decades—charts his ascent from a tavern in the Hudson Valley to the presidency, concluding with his late-career involvement in an antislavery movement. Offering vivid profiles of the day's leading figures (Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, John Quincy Adams, DeWitt Clinton, James K. Polk), James Bradley's book depicts the struggle for power in the tumultuous decades leading up to the Civil War.
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Still don’t know the man
- By Paul D. Stancil on 04-19-25
By: James M. Bradley
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Founders' Son
- A Life of Abraham Lincoln
- By: Richard Brookhiser
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Following Lincoln from his humble origins in Kentucky to his assassination in Washington, D.C., Brookhiser shows us every side of the man: laborer, lawyer, congressman, president; storyteller, wit, lover of ribald jokes; depressive, poet, friend, visionary. And he shows that despite his many roles and his varied life, Lincoln returned time and time again to the Founders.
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Excellent Research and Evenhanded Work
- By Amazon Customer on 09-26-15
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James Monroe
- A Life
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The extraordinary life of James Monroe: Soldier, senator, diplomat, and the last Founding Father to hold the presidency, a man who helped transform 13 colonies into a vibrant and mighty republic.
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Large and inconsistent, much like Monroe himself.
- By Kindle Customer on 01-31-21
By: Tim McGrath
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A Man of Iron
- The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland
- By: Troy Senik
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli, Troy Senik
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Grover Cleveland’s political career—a dizzying journey that saw him rise from obscure lawyer to president of the United States in just three years—was marked by contradictions. A politician of uncharacteristic honesty and principle, he was nevertheless dogged by secrets from his personal life. A believer in limited government, he pushed presidential power to its limits to combat a crippling depression, suppress labor unrest, and resist the forces of American imperialism.
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Worth the Wait!
- By Brian S Cunningham on 09-21-22
By: Troy Senik
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President McKinley
- Architect of the American Century
- By: Robert W. Merry
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Republican President William McKinley transformed America during his two terms as president. Although he does not register large in either public memory or in historians' rankings, in this revealing account, Robert W. Merry offers "a fresh twist on the old tale . . . a valuable education on where America has been and, possibly, where it is going" (The National Review).
By: Robert W. Merry
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Polk
- The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America
- By: Walter R. Borneman
- Narrated by: Alan Nebelthau
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a major political biography of a great American president - who won a war, transformed the government, and doubled the size of the United States...in four years. When Polk was sworn in as the 11th president, what followed was one of the most consequential presidencies in history.
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Polk: One of our most important Preidents
- By Rik GNV on 10-12-08
What listeners say about James Madison
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- donareader
- 02-11-13
Reliving history
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.
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- C. Larson
- 01-27-12
Things I Didn't Know I Didn't Know
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.
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5 people found this helpful
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- D amazon Parker
- 09-12-16
Excellent summary of a political actor
Brookhiser cogently describes the life of an ambitious man. Madison is a man slightly ahead of his time; struggling with the questions of his era and unwilling to reach the intellectual & moral conclusions to which the Constitution & Bill of Rights surely indicate. Madison is surrounded by truly great thinkers and self made men. in comparison, he is a gifted, commendable bureaucrat and a slavish flunky to Jefferson.
Madison is the first of a long line of self-dealing, hypocritical party hacks legion in demagogic politics.
Madison is the bridge from Enlightenment age thinkers to a modern form of politics we are familiar with today. Fascinating in a way.
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- MomOfMonkeys84
- 01-18-21
great book!
Wonderful writing! And great voice! I loved it, and thank you to the author. I will continue with this author and narrator.
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- MM
- 04-15-22
Not Exhaustive Detail but Not Bad
Overall: good book. Get more than just an overview of Madison, however not exhaustive detail of the man. Would have liked more detail from his time as President but satisfied with the listen nonetheless.
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- Dennis
- 02-14-12
My Constitution
What did you love best about James Madison?
The history of how we came to be from a political point of view.
What other book might you compare James Madison to and why?
Liberty & Tyranny by Mark Levine
Which scene was your favorite?
Washing turning down the offer to be King and not accepting a third term as President. Washington walked away from power.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No.
Any additional comments?
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!
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3 people found this helpful
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- KrisS
- 04-22-24
Not really a biography
This book, while I enjoyed it, was not really a biography. It was more a history of the beginnings of the country with a focus on the Constitution. Next to nothing about Madison's personal life is explored. I still found it interesting.
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- David I. Williams
- 04-22-13
Good introduction to a great man
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.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Aaron Janz
- 03-11-17
Good book
While this was a good biography, and it was performed well, it did not make Maddison come alive for me, like other biographies I have read of presidents. I have just finished reading Washington: A Life by Chernow, John Adams by McCullough, and Thomas Jefferson: The art of power by Meacham, and this book, while good, does not match up with those phenomenal biographies. I couldn't help but feel that there could've been more personal details. However, this book covers the facts very well and was still entertaining. I would definitely recommend the book if you want to read a book about Maddison specifically.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-24-22
Great Biography of Madison
Brookhiser has written a very enjoyable biography of James Madison which also tells much of what you need to know about the early years of the American Republic. The other Founders are also well described as well as key political and military events.
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