The Forgotten Founding Father
Noah Webster's Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture
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Narrated by:
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Arthur Morey
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By:
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Joshua Kendall
About this listen
American's own The Professor and the Madman: a story of Noah Webster, author of American English.
Noah Webster's name is now synonymous with the dictionary he created, but his story is not nearly so ubiquitous. Webster hobnobbed with various Founding Fathers and was a young confidant of George Washington and Ben Franklin. He started America's first daily newspaper, predating Alexander Hamilton's New York Post. His "blue-backed speller" for schoolchildren sold millions of copies and influenced early copyright law. But perhaps most important, Webster was an ardent supporter of a unified, definitively American culture, distinct from the British, at a time when the United States of America were anything but unified - and his dictionary of American English is a testament to that.
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McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. This is history on a grand scale, an audiobook about politics, war, and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, it is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.
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An outstanding biography
- By Davis on 07-10-06
By: David McCullough
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Ida M. Tarbell
- The Woman Who Challenged Big Business - and Won!
- By: Emily Arnold McCully
- Narrated by: Emily Arnold McCully
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Born in 1857 and raised in oil country, Ida M. Tarbell was one of the first investigative journalists and probably the most influential in her time. Her series of articles on the Standard Oil Trust, a complicated business empire run by John D. Rockefeller, revealed to readers the underhanded, even illegal practices that had led to Rockefeller's success.
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Excellent!
- By AKA1 on 03-16-19
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Jefferson
- Architect of American Liberty
- By: John B. Boles
- Narrated by: Michael Johnson
- Length: 24 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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From an eminent scholar of the American South, the first full-scale biography of Thomas Jefferson since 1970. Not since Merrill Peterson's Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation has a scholar attempted to write a comprehensive biography of the most complex Founding Father. In Jefferson, John B. Boles plumbs every facet of Thomas Jefferson's life, all while situating him amid the sweeping upheaval of his times. We meet Jefferson the politician and political thinker - as well as Jefferson the architect, scientist, bibliophile, paleontologist, musician, and gourmet.
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Makes Jefferson Human
- By MichaelBuffalo on 06-23-20
By: John B. Boles
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John Quincy Adams
- A Public Life, A Private Life
- By: Paul C. Nagel
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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A United States minister, senator, president, and congressman in turn, John Quincy Adams was one of the most prevalent and dedicated Americans in history. Drawing from Adams' 70-year diary, author Paul Nagel probes deeply into the psyche of this cantankerous, misanthropic, erudite, hardworking son of a former president whose remarkable career spanned so many offices.
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Disappointing
- By Michael Bellesiles on 02-24-11
By: Paul C. Nagel
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Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jon Meacham
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era.
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A Man and Biography Relevant to Our Day
- By Darwin8u on 11-14-12
By: Jon Meacham
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William Wilberforce
- A Hero for Humanity
- By: Kevin Belmonte
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity is the definitive biography of the English statesman who overcame incredible odds to bring about the end of slavery and slave trade. Called 'the wittiest man in England' by philosopher and novelist Madame de Stael, praised by Abraham Lincoln, and renowned for his oratorical genius, Wilberforce worked tirelessly to accomplish his goal. Whether you are an avid student of history, a pupil of prominent leaders of the past, or simply someone who reads for pleasure, you will love award-winning biographer Kevin Belmonte's vivid account....
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A Genuine Hero
- By mathmac on 09-30-17
By: Kevin Belmonte
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Gandhi Before India
- By: Ramachandra Guha
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Ramachandra Guha takes us from Gandhi's birth in 1869 through his upbringing in Gujarat, his two years as a student in London, and his two decades as a lawyer and community organizer in South Africa. Guha has uncovered myriad previously untapped documents, including private papers of Gandhi's contemporaries. Using this wealth of material in an exuberant, brilliantly nuanced and detailed narrative, Guha describes the social, political, and personal worlds inside of which Gandhi began the journey that would earn him the honorific Mahatma: "Great Soul".
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Somewhat repetitive and lacking
- By freehope on 03-10-21
By: Ramachandra Guha
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John Quincy Adams
- American Visionary
- By: Fred Kaplan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 27 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fresh and lively biography rich in literary analysis and new historical detail, Fred Kaplan brings into focus the dramatic life of John Quincy Adams - the little known and much misunderstood sixth president of the United States and the first son of John and Abigail Adams - and persuasively demonstrates how Adams's inspiring, progressive vision guided his life and helped shape the course of America.
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Destined by birth, mentored by greats...
- By Jonathan Love on 03-04-16
By: Fred Kaplan
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Jefferson's Daughters
- Three Sisters, White and Black, in a Young America
- By: Catherine Kerrison
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. Although the three women shared a father, the similarities end there. Martha and Maria received a fine convent school education while they lived with their father during his diplomatic posting in Paris. Once they returned home, however, the sisters found their options limited by the laws and customs of early America. Harriet Hemings followed a different path. She escaped slavery — apparently with the assistance of Jefferson himself.
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Don't waste money on this book.
- By Amazon Customer on 02-17-18
What listeners say about The Forgotten Founding Father
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- DM
- 08-26-22
Eye opening
Very in-depth regarding Noah Webster. I think he is virtually unknown unless one comes in contact with a dictionary. Now they are known as Merriam-Webster making it even harder to know him. Sadly-these lesser known persons contributed a great deal to the formation of the American Republic. Thankfully-this book opens our eyes to what is easily taken for granted-an American English that brought all 50 states into conformity to a formal language.
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- Jason Comely
- 06-23-14
A bit of a slog
While this particular rendition of Webster's life seemed well researched, it wasn't fun - at all. It was dry and too hung up on minutia that didn't drive the narrative. I listened to the first 5 chapters then skipped to the last one for some closure.
If you are a diehard historian and are keen to learn more on the early days of America, you'll probably love this book though.
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- Royster
- 09-12-11
The real Founding Fathers should sue
The part of this book that deals with the creation and aftermath of the dictionary -- roughly the second half -- is moderately interesting. But the rest of Webster's story is not especially compelling, and the man himself comes across as quirky, at best, and a miserable human being, at his worst. Compared to the traditional Founding Fathers, Webster was simply lacking in impact, spirit, temperament, outlook, optimism, complexity, generosity -- you name it. Kendall convincingly conveys the "obsession" part of Webster's life, and he repeatedly asserts that Webster created an American culture, but the latter claim is essentially undocumented and, therefore, unpersuasive. The narrator makes the most of the material he has to work with but ultimately, I'm afriad, it's much ado about very little.
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- Jane Austen
- 05-09-17
Disappointing
The book does quite a bit of editorializing without providing more than a line to substantiate its claims.
As a person who references the 1828 daily, its my opinion that while Kendall obviously admires Webster, he has little idea of the value of what Webster produced.
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