John Ferling is Professor of History at the State University of
West Georgia. A leading authority on American Revolutionary
history, he has appeared in many documentaries and has written
numerous books, including John Adams: A Life, The First of Men: A
Life of George Washington, Setting the World Ablaze: Washington,
Adams, and Jefferson in the American Revolution, and the
award-winning A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the
American Republic.
"Ferling at his best. It would be hard to find a better guide to
the complexities of this very complex election, and Ferling is
particularly good at showing just how many contingencies there
were....Useful and lucid."--Herbert Sloan, American Historical
Review
"Ferling richly presents the twists and turns of the election, as
well as a vivid portrait of a struggling new nation and the
bruising political battles of our now revered founding fathers,
including the major roles played by James Madison and Alexander
Hamilton....Ferling's ultimate triumph is showing that,
historically, when faced with dire circumstances at home and
abroad, American democracy has pulled through."--Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
"This is a stunning book, by far the finest ever on one of the most
critical elections in the nation's history. If you thought 2000 was
wild, wait until you read John Ferling's vivid and authoritative
account of 1800. A brilliant historian and graceful stylist,
Ferling topples old and new myths, and restores Jefferson, Adams,
and Hamilton to their proper places, while sustaining a lucid and
gripping narrative. There is no better concise work on high
political
drama in the early republic--and on the tortuous and contested
emergence of American democracy."--Sean Wilentz, Princeton
University
"The tale of Adams and Jefferson is a painful and moving one. They
were friends, then enemies, then friends again over a period of
more than 50 years. Ferling does a good job of summing up the
similarities that made their friendship possible as well as the
differences destined to drive them apart."--Los Angeles Times Book
Review
"Ferling is especially adept at revealing the bare-knuckled
partisanship that lay behind this vote, and the maneuvering between
Burr and Federalists in the House of Representatives that might
have made Burr president rather than Jefferson."--Washington
Post
"The 2004 campaign may seem tame after historian Ferling's riveting
account of the 1800 presidential race."--USA Today
"A well-written look at the enigmatic politics and personalities of
the early Republic."--Kirkus Reviews
"A lively and reliable account of Thomas Jefferson's election as
President in 1800, a fiery period in American history. Readers who
assume that national politics in the 1990s was the dirtiest ever or
that the election of 2000 was the most controversial will be struck
to learn that political rivalries in the 1790s were even
dirtier....General readers will find it exciting, clear, and
instructive."--Library Journal
"Ferling's straightforward narrative makes complicated history
accessible to the average reader. He writes with authority, and his
storyteller's touch makes many of these figures come
alive."--Wilmington News-Journal
"Guiding his reader through the critical time he calls the 'high
voltage' 1790s, John Ferling makes sense of the crisis mentality
that enveloped early America. From the 'narrow Squeak' that awarded
John Adams the presidency in 1796 to 'something new under the sun'
that spirited Thomas Jefferson into office four years later,
Ferling lays out a tempting tale of political life, once again
proving himself a careful, clear-headed interpreter of issues
and
personalities."--Andrew Burstein, University of Tulsa, author of
The Inner Jefferson and The Passions of Andrew Jackson
"In Adams vs. Jefferson, the distinguished historian John Ferling
offers a fascinating narrative of the election of 1800 and
demonstrates how that dramatic contest could have doomed the
American experiment in republicanism. Instead, the election, a far
more contentious event than the election of 2000, marked the true
consolidation of the American Revolution and the triumph of the
ideal of government resting on the consent of the governed."--John
K.
Alexander, University of Cincinnati, author of Samuel Adams:
America's Revolutionary Politician
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
