Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Great Virginia Triumvirate; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson & James Madison

I love the University of Virginia Press.  And I think they love me.  They send me the best books.  And what's great about the University of Virginia Press is the fact that their books are Virginia-centric.  This means, you'll find a lot of books on Washington, Jefferson, Madison, et. al.

The most recent of these books is entitled, The Great Virginia Triumvirate: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson & James Madison, In the Eyes of Their Contemporaries.



With the help of these three men, Virginia played an important role in the fight for independence.  And as one of the largest and wealthiest of the colonies, they played an equally important role in helping to set up the new republic.  This is demonstrated with the number of Virginians who played key roles in guiding the fledgling nation. 

Washington as Commander in Chief and Army General, Thomas Jefferson as a statesman and scholar and James Madison as the "Father of Our Constitution".  

Author John Kaminski, who's Founders on the Founders is an excellent glimpse into the lives of our forefathers through personal quotes from journals and writings.  His knack for using candid dialogue and letters to bring personality to the founders is once again brought back in The Great Virginia Triumvirate.

This is a series of biographical portraits that bring these three men to life through the words of these three Virginians themselves.

Take for example the idea that Jefferson once told John Adams that he had not written about his life or a history of his time because he found his correspondence to be more direct and honest.  This in turn would provide a more accurate history of the time. 

Taken from letters, speeches, diaries and memoirs, the quotations and vignettes bring to life the personalities behind the public personae of these great men.

Related Posts by Categories



No comments:

Post a Comment