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Remarkable and insightful... a fascinating look at the interaction of money and politics in the early years of our Republic, showing that, like much of human nature, issues of greed and corruption are not sudden creations of the modern era.
— New York Journal of Books
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[A] compelling account.... Cost has written an engrossing and useful book in The Price of Greatness, for it both provides an accessible (short) history of this country's beginnings and illustrates dynamics fundamental to the American model.
— Washington Free Beacon
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Cost's descriptions of
post independence political wrangling and the first decades of the new United States are clear and easily grasped.
— Publishers Weekly
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Focusing on James Madison and Alexander Hamilton.... Cost offers a revealing look at how their contrastingg political philosophies shaped the new nation's domestic and foreign policies.... A well-argued examination of the nation's founding principles.
— Kirkus Reviews
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In his lively
new book, Jay Cost continues his fascinating inquiry into the sources of
American political corruption by examining Alexander Hamilton's and James
Madison's divergent understandings of the Constitution and the proper balancing
of liberty, republicanism, and national unity and prosperity.
— Bradford Wilson, Executive Director, James Madison Program, Princeton University
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Thoughtful people differ
concerning why so many of today's most talented writers on American history
practice their craft outside academia. Thoughtful people agree, and this book
demonstrates, that Jay Cost is among those writers.
— George F. Will, WashingtonPost columnist
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Jay Cost brings
alive the profound dispute between Madison's republicanism and Hamilton's
nationalism and helps us see why it still matters. At once a discerning scholar
of political theory and a perceptive student of political practice, he is the
perfect guide to this rich story.
— Yuval Levin, author of TheFractured Republic and editor of NationalAffairs