Joanne B. Freeman, assistant professor of history at Yale University, is also the editor of Alexander Hamilton:
Writings, published by the Library of America.
Review
"Admirable and entertaining."
--Bill Kauffman, Wall Street Journal
"The book provides a read nearly as lively and idiosyncratic as the Founding Fathers themselves."
--Scott Bernard Nelson, Boston Globe
"A landmark book."
--Pauline Maier, Washington Post Book World
"The book's virtues are mighty ones. Looking at Hamilton, Burr, and Jefferson through the lens of honor brings
a logic to their actions that most histories have heretofore lacked."
--New York Times
Publisher Web Site, February, 2003
Summary
This groundbreaking book offers a major reassessment of the tumultuous culture of politics on the national stage
during America's earliest years, when Jefferson, Burr, Hamilton, and other national leaders struggled to define
themselves and their role in the new nation. Joanne Freeman shows how the rituals and rhetoric of honor provided
ground rules for political combat, how gossip, print warfare, and dueling became accepted political weapons, and
how the founders jostled for political power in the nascent republic.
