I hate hate hate DNF-ing this book halfway through, as it's a great biography of James Madison that's teaching me a lot about the early Republic. But the press of other reading is making it impossible to give it the time it deserves.

This is the third biography of James Madison that I've read but it's the first that was more than 200 pages in length. I suspect this is why I'm getting so much more out of this one, as I usually retain more from longer books (which is a major reason why I prefer them, despite the greater reading commitment involved) and Madison is someone the details of who's life I have wanted to master for a long time now. And Ketcham's book has details aplenty -- and not trivia, but analysis of his thinking. It's deepened my appreciation of his ideas and his motivations, which will undoubtedly help me better cover him the next time I teach the first half of the U.S. history survey.

In 1789 the United States started what amounted to a national reboot, as a new republic created by the ratification of the Constitution began operation. This was a massive and far-reaching endeavor, one that involved the creation of new offices and branches of government, the redefinition of institutions, and a new assessment of relationships with both the thirteen states and the American people. What was at stake was nothing less than the very survival of the country as a union of states, as all of this took place under the shadow of the failure of the Articles of Confederation to provide for a government capable of tackling the challenges facing the country in the aftermath of the American Revolution, with the likely possibility that this would be the last opportunity to make union work before the country disintegrated into thirteen independent states competing with each other —or even being reabsorbed into the British empire.

This effort to launch a new republic is at the heart of Gordon Wood's history of the first two and a half decades of the United States under the federal government. As a preeminent scholar of American political thought and the revolutionary era, there are few historians better suited to the task of writing about this period of the nation's history. What he produces is a sophisticated account that explains the magnitude of the task facing the country during this period, how it was addressed by the men involved, and how their solutions provided the details lacking in the initial framework of the country. To do this, Wood starts with an extended exploration of that framework as it was perceived by the political actors of the era, reflected not just in the recent debates over the Constituton but in how they sought to turn the structure described in the document into reality. This involved filling in the details with laws passed in the new Congress; the actions and tone set by the president, George Washington (who occupied an office with no immediate parallel in the Western world); and the decisions and authority of a new body of judges, who occupied offices viewed with distrust by many people.

As political leaders worked out these details, differences emerged that reflected divergent visions of the nation. Four men in particular stand out in Wood's description of this divergence. Two of them, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, advocated a strong national government backed by a socially conservative and hierarchical society. The other two, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, soon emerged in opposition to this, arguing for a smaller government that gave more latitude for the lower classes. Around these men coalesced the first national political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, who fought with a bitterness that reflected the fact that the very concept of political opposition had yet to be established. This gave the politics of this period (which was still very much a preserve of the elite) a uniquely sharp edge.

In the end, the Republicans got the better of the argument, largely due to the broader changes taking place throughout the country. Wood describes well the evolution of American society during this period, which created a more egalitarian country than was envisioned by most of the Federalists. Yet by controlling the federal government for the first twelve years the Federalists were able to imprint their vision upon the country in ways that subsequent Republican Congresses and administrations were unable to alter. This was due in part to Republican disagreements as to how to undo the Federalist design, and to events overseas which underscored the need for a national government capable of expanding the nation and defending its interests abroad. The War of 1812 served as the embodiment of this need, as President Madison found his ability to wage war hampered by the underdevelopment of the country and the Republican limitations on government. Nevertheless, the nation's emergence intact from the war served as an affirmation of the success of the Constitution, reflecting its success in addressing the problems of the previous quarter-century.

In describing the history of this period, Wood displays the insights gained from a lifetime of scholarly study. This comes through on every page of the text, as he fills the book with carefully argued analysis backed by a wealth of scholarship. While Wood leans a little too heavily on his strengths as a historian of political ideology, his book untangles the complex issues of a vitally important period in American history. It makes for a sterling contribution to the Oxford History of the United States series, one guaranteed to endure as the standard text on the era for decades to come.

After finishing Gordon Wood's Empire of Liberty a couple of days ago, I was intrigued enough by some of the topics he covered to explore them a little more deeply. One of them is the War of 1812, which I've read about before but am growing interested in exploring in greater depth. The problem is that what the book that I most want to read about it ⁠— a good history of the war from the British perspective ⁠— doesn't really exist. So I'm considering writing my own.

Admittedly this is a pretty arrogant thing to declare, considering that it's been months since I put any work into the book I'm currently writing. But the subject is one the more I read about it the more fascinating I find it. It's also one that I can use my background reading for my courses to explore further, so what I'm contemplating would for now involve more of a redirection of my existing reading efforts rather than a further diffusion of my limited time. So right now I'm identifying which titles I want to read and working out when I can read them.

One of the works that stands out most in this respect is Irving Brant's six-volume biography of James Madison. Though it's far from the newest biography of Madison available it's regarded as the most comprehensive, as Brant covers Madison's long life and many achievements in considerable detail. HIs labors receive a lot of credit for reviving Madison's historical standing, and nearly every book I have on the era still uses them as a foundation for understanding his role in events. All these reasons make reading the volumes a high priority if I want to deepen my understanding of Madison and the early republic.

There's only one problem, though: the books aren't cheap. Copies of the volumes in good condition usually go for over $100 each. And buying them individually is by far the more economical route: the lowest price I've found online for a complete set is $750 ⁠— and the prices escalate rapidly from there. Based on the description, this is probably the best-condition set currently available for sale.

If you're interested these can be yours . . . for $2,500.

I may be a book addict, but I'm not insane; that is far more than anyone should reasonably spend for a set of these books, especially when the individual volumes can be had for a quarter of the price with some internet sleuthing and a little patience. So I'm going to spend the next few months fettering out the books and seeing what I can acquire. Already I found two of the volumes online for a little over $50 each, and while they might constitute the low-hanging fruit of my quest I'm confident that over time I can acquire all of the volumes for half of what is the going price of a full set. And when I do, they're going to look great on my shelves.

You'd have to be living under a rock buried somewhere halfway down to the center of the earth in order not to be aware that in recent years our beautiful world has been shaken up by a number of crises the likes of which I, at least, have not experienced in my entire lifetime -- I can't remember any other time when I have so consistently felt the urge to put on blinders and wrap myself in a giant comfort blanket approximately 10 seconds after opening a newspaper (or its online edition), or 10 seconds into listening to the news.  Obviously playing ostrich has never done anybody any good, but God knows, it's getting hard not to succumb to the temptation. 

So what does a book lover do in order to keep her sanity, equip herself to separate fact from fiction (in news reporting, politics, and plenty of other places) and deal with rat catchers and fire mongers?  She turns to books, of course.

I've decided to build a "Freedom and Future" personal library, which will contain books which (1) have either deeply impacted my personal thinking or that I expect will come to do so in the future, or which (2) provide valuable food for thought in today's social and political debate, both nationally and internationally; be it based on a profound analysis of the issues at stake (as a matter of principle or long term), or because even though they may not be of lasting significance, they contain a thought-provoking contribution to the current debate (even if they were not written with that express purpose in mind -- e.g., books about historic persons or events or books by long-dead authors).  I'm not expecting to binge-read the books added to this library, but I'm looking to add them to the mix with a bit more focus than I've been doing of late.

In the past couple of days, I've trawled my own bookshelves for books to add to the library, but this is one area where, even more than anywhere else, I'm looking for suggestions -- I can already see that I'm at risk of falling back on my old standbys, and that's the last thing I want to do here.

So, tell me: What books have recently made you sit up -- or which are the books that you've come to turn to and trust for guidance and inspiration?

These can be fiction or nonfiction, and books from any or all types of genres (I only draw the line at splatter punk).  As the first part of my new library's title indicates, liberty and freedom rights are a focus, but I'm really looking for food for thought on all the issues that I think are going to determine the path human society will be taking (hence the "future" part); including, in no particular order:

* Liberty and freedom(s) (of opinion and press, movement, association, worship, the arts, etc.),

* Equal access to justice and judicial independence and impartiality,

* Equality and empowerment (gender / sexuality, race, etc.), and the plurality of society;

* Poverty / the increasing gap in the distribution of wealth,

* Education (general, political, etc.);

* Funding and freedom of research and science,

* Protection of the environment,

* Democratic institutions and processes and how to safeguard them,

* Xenophobia, war(mongering) and the preservation / restoration of peace,

* Persecution, migration, and internal displacement,

* Free trade and globalization,

* Technological advances,

* Ethics -- in all of the above areas.

I'm adding a few books to this post to give you a rough idea of what sort of things I've so far added to this library -- please take them as very approximate guidance only, though.  It can be something totally different ... really anything that's jogged your brain or made you reevaluate your perspective on any of the above issues.

Thanks in advance!