American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic

I liked this book. It assumes that you know the context for the periods, but the introductory paragraphs do a good job of getting hazy memories up to speed.

The book provides a decent balance of highlighting the genuinely impressive moments during the revolutionary and early Republic era and mentioning the difficulties that were forseen but unsolved. It’s a good balance that reminds us that they were radicals (in 1775) who struggled with the difficult task of getting people to think of the United States as one whole. Politics and exaggeration rear their ugly head early, and “who holds the revolutionary spirit” is an ugly precursor of “who is a real American”. Overall, it’s a good look at the famous figures from history as people– basically good but flawed.