The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 Audiobook

Quotes

• The Wall Street Journal“The dissenters—George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison—faced no less a task than redefining the meaning of the War for Independence in what amounted to a Second American Revolution. How they did so is the burden of the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph Ellis' The Quartet, an engaging reconsideration of the arduous path to the Constitution.

  —  New York Times Book Review“Customary, graceful prose. His portraits [show] his sure touch—highlighting Washington’s dignity, Hamilton’s energy, Madison’s learning and Jay’s diplomacy.

• The Boston Globe“This is more than just a reinterpretation of a vital transition in our history; it is a reflection of new material from an episode that occurred two and a quarter centuries ago... Having set forth the analysis, Ellis plunges into the narrative. His is an inviting voice and his story compelling, built around irresistible figures who, as the annual publishing lists amply display, retain their appeal in our own time.”

• Miami Herald“The Quartet achieves its purpose, providing a clear explanation of how the real United States of America came into being.

  —  St. Louis Post Dispatch“Ellis, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for Founding Brothers, reminds us that what Catherine Drinker Bowen has called the “Miracle at Philadelphia” wasn’t destiny or ordained by God. It was created by perceptive men who understood human nature, history and politics and could foresee what this country could become should its people choose to have a strong central government.”

• Richmond Times Dispatch“An author who breathes life into the dead and immediacy into the past, Ellis illuminates America’s rebirth, the men who made it possible and the framework they created. With rich research and intelligent interpretation, “The Quartet” burnishes his reputation as a writer, a thinker and a humanist.”

• Shelf Awareness“Absorbing in its details, and convincing in its arguments, The Quartet is sure to appeal to history nerds and American politicos. As another election season approaches, a look back at the creation of the government, and the reasons why these founding fathers did what they did, is sure to be engrossing reading for anyone.”

• Kirkus (starred review)

• A brilliant account of six years during which four Founding Fathers, ‘in disregard of public opinion, carried the American story in a new direction.’ In a virtuosic introduction, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Ellis maintains that Abraham Lincoln was wrong. In 1776—four score and seven years before 1863—our forefathers did not bring forth a new nation….Ellis reminds us that the 1776 resolution declaring independence described 13 ‘free and independent states.’ Adopting the Constitution in 1789 created the United States, but no mobs rampaged in its favor….Ellis delivers a convincing argument that it was a massive political transformation led by men with impeccable revolutionary credentials….This is Ellis’ ninth consecutive history of the Revolutionary War era and yet another winner.”

• “An engaging reconsideration of the arduous path to the Constitution.”

  — Wall Street Journal

• “Customary, graceful prose. His portraits [show] his sure touch—highlighting Washington’s dignity, Hamilton’s energy, Madison’s learning, and Jay’s diplomacy.”

  — New York Times Book Review

• “The author is a sure-handed and entertaining guide through the thickets of argument, personality, and ideology out of which the American nation emerged.”

  — Economist

• “Ellis…reminds us that what Catherine Drinker Bowen has called the ‘Miracle at Philadelphia’ wasn’t destiny or ordained by God. It was created by perceptive men who understood human nature, history and politics and could foresee what this country could become should its people choose to have a strong central government.”

  — St. Louis Post Dispatch

• “A brilliant account…Ellis delivers a convincing argument that it was a massive political transformation led by men with impeccable revolutionary credentials.”

  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

• “Listen and marvel as we learn more about the genius of Washington, Hamilton, Madison, and John Jay. Robertson Dean’s deliberate, authoritative voice lends this work an air of importance that is both compelling and accessible. The potentially dry story is an adventure as told by the masterful Ellis, and Dean propels it forward with a lively pace and impeccable diction. It’s good history at its best.”

  — AudioFile