What readers think of Founding Brothers, plus links to write your own review.

I have never read such a challenging book in my young life before but after the first few pages, the style and essence of Ellis' writing really hit me as eloquent, intriguing, and insightful. I believe that this book is the right choice for someone who likes to be challenged and at the same time, is engrossed in all the stories and people history has to offer us.

Where do I begin? This work of overly flamboyant vocabulary, 4 page paragraphs, and mind-numbing overcomplexity is the best example to date of three pounds of candy in a 100 pound bag.
I commend Joseph J. Ellis for the 20 years he probably spent poring over a dictionary to fill a story that could be told in a mere 40 pages, with so many adjectives, so much pointless information, and the most annoyingly extreme degree of detail I have ever experienced in a literary work. Let us also not forget to recognize so many school districts for assigning 248 pages (more with notes) of absolute TORTURE as a "summer reading assignment" for the vast majority of A.P. U.S. history students across the country. Not to exaggerate, but I think the suicide rate in children between sixteen and eighteen years of age may experience a spike as the summer draws to a close, and children around the nation begin to pick up this work of excruciating pain, hoping to finish it before the school year begins.
If you are a hermit, despot, or just a fat, mean old man, who wants to be left alone for an afternoon of reading on the beach, please tape the cover of "founding brothers" to the back of your book of choice. When those annoying teenagers spot a glimpse of that beige spine with the presidential portraits, you can be sure they will keep a distance of at least 3 miles.
It's true: somehow, be it to maintain the poseur reputation of a well-read intellectual, some critics will actually claim to ENJOY this novel. I guess in the end, this is a free country (a country whose founding is described in this book in the most boring and tasteless fashion imaginable), but a word of kindly advice to the author of this piece: seeing as the educational system seems to favor your books for their summer reading assignments, in the future, please; just stick to short stories.

I was coerced to read this book for AP U.S. History class. a very dull and flavorless book. the confusing language made this book very strenuous and difficult to read. also, the fine detail the author goes into does not enhance the plot whatsoever. words I would use to describe this book would be "pointless, redundant", and "difficult to read." a euphemistic way to describe this book would be "bad".

As an AP and honors student, I have never read such a boring book. I don't get what Ellis is trying to say because he goes on and on with details. Isn't this book suppose to sum up history in an exciting way? I don't recommend this book to high school students, you won't get it. I had to reread every chapter and I still didn't get it. I don't get why teachers are assigning this book. Students obviously don't understand it and it shows. I'd rather read the history textbook.

... might be able to comprehend about a quarter of what the author cranks out onto the page. Granted, Ellis writes extremely fluidly, and the overall quality of the book is hardly mediocre. HOWEVER; I found it extremely redundant, and not at all self-explanatory. A thorough knowledge of the American history and government is required to understand what this book means, let alone the extremely extensive vocabulary that is enough to make more than a few uncomfortable. Overall, I found it pretty painful to read.

I am a 16-year-old AP U.S. student, and I recommend this book to those who are capable of appreciating 'Founding Brothers' unneeded complexity. I, for one, am not one of those people.

My fellow Americans, I, Dr. Wantstokillmyselfafterthisbook Jr. the 3rd, have found the CURE for INSOMNIACS! Just read this HORRID and DREADFUL book and you'll be sleeping like a baby.

Warning

May cause user to want to kill themselves.
May cause blindness.
If read more than a paragraph a day, user might fall into a coma and die a horrible book related death.

The End.

A powerful and compelling work, which told of interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the founding of the United States. Each "brother" is examined based on his accomplishments, and equally, his faults. Motives are unveiled, politics unmasked, and the reader ultimately gets the sense that Washington's (the city) political games have really never changed. This inference comes directly from the implication of the title "Founding Brothers," showing that each man was connected in some way to the others, and that together, they were able to create the American Republic we know and live in today.

This book was so terrible! I just felt like telling the author to SPIT IT OUT already! the language is was confusing (this coming from a very advanced student). I had to write a few essays on this book and had to read the whole thing twice AND get summaries online before i even had an inkling of an idea on what it was about. I feel bad for anyone else that has to read this. Also...the author went back and forth in time and ideas it was all over the place and not interesting in the slightest.