The Great Virginia Triumvirate: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, & James Madison in the Eyes of Their Contemporaries

Kaminski (US history, U. of Wisconsin-Madison) presents brief biographies of the three Founding Fathers, interweaving his recitation of the bare facts with vignettes and excerpts from letters, speeches, newspaper essays, diaries, journals, and memoirs of their contemporaries. Most of these sources are pretty obscure and have not been used by historians, so students, teachers, researchers, and general readers can find a very different account of the lives and careers of the first, third, and fourth presidents. The characterizations are George Washington: The Greatest Man on Earth, Thomas Jefferson: Philosopher and Politician, and James Madison: Champion of Liberty and Justice. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John P. Kaminski is the founder and director of the Center for the Study of the American Constitution at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is the coeditor ofThe Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights and the editor ofThe Founders on the Founders (Virginia), among other works.