James Madison
The Founding Father

A readable, concise biography of Madison, focusing on his political life, but with enough family context. Rutland's assessments are balanced.......more

Although my personnel favorite Founding Father is Alexander Hamilton, I find it very hard not to like James Madison. The title of this book declares Madison to be the Founding Father, now I do not think that is fair to the others but he is arguably one of the most important. Although not very releva......more

TITLE: James Madison: The Founding Father WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: I am trying to read a book about every US President REVIEW: I did not know a lot about this president. Mainly that he was a founding father and had links to Jefferson. This book recounts mainly his time after the American Revolution and......more

This was a good primer on Madison and the events that make up the founding of the United States of America. I am inspired by Madison's dream of a free country nurtured and supported by active and educated citizens. It is remarkable the level of detail, force of energy, and length of endurance Madiso......more

This book’s target audience is really those who 1) know little about Madison but 2) know enough about the other founders and time period to appreciate it. This specificity isn’t helped by the book’s offbeat writing and stripped-down focus, both of which seem to be the reasons many didn’t like it, or......more