"This new four volume set pairs primary source texts with expert analysis by esteemed historians. Here, the lives of notable Americans are illuminated through an in-depth study of primary source texts they produced during their lifetimes. From presidents, jurists, and legislators to influential private citizens both past and present, American Leaders features important full-text sources written by the people who shaped the nation-and crucial scholarly...

Benjamin Franklin is perhaps the most remarkable figure in American history: the greatest statesman of his age, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the American republic. He was also a pioneering scientist, a best-selling author, the country's first postmaster general, a printer, a bon vivant, a diplomat, a ladies' man, and a moralist, and the most prominent celebrity of the 18th century. Franklin was, however, a man of vast contradictions,...

An intimate look at the founders--George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison--and the women who played essential roles in their lives.

By the time Henry Kissinger was made secretary of state in 1973, he had become, according to a Gallup poll, the most admired person in America and one of the most unlikely celebrities ever to capture the world's imagination. Yet Kissinger was also reviled by large segments of the American public, ranging from liberal intellectuals to conservative activists. Kissinger explores the relationship between this complex man's personality and the foreign...

In 10 essays from previously published articles, the author presents miniature portraits of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and others known as the founding fathers.

"This majestic new biography of James Madison explores the astonishing story of a man of vaunted modesty who audaciously changed the world. Among the Founding Fathers, Madison was a true genius of the early republic. Outwardly reserved, Madison was the intellectual driving force behind the Constitution and crucial to its ratification. His visionary political philosophy and rationale for the union of states--so eloquently presented in The Federalist...

Profiles the intertwined lives of seven of America's founding fathers, including John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.

Describes some of the well-known as well as the lesser-known details of Paul Revere's life and exciting ride.

We know-and love-the story of the American Revolution, from the Declaration of Independence to Cornwallis's defeat. But our first government was a disaster and the country was in a terrible crisis. So when a group of men traveled to Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to save a nation in danger of collapse, they had no great expectations for the meeting that would make history. But all the ideas, arguments, and compromises led to a great thing: a constitution...

In this ambitious, original study, Pulitzer Prize-winner Lelyveld sets out to measure Gandhi's accomplishments as a politician and an advocate for the downtrodden--against Gandhi's own expectations and in light of his complex, conflicted feelings about his place in Indian history.