Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis

Founding Brothers starts out with the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. What is focused on is the abundance of ways of looking at that day: Burr showing himself a bad person, Hamilton not making his intentions to not hurt Burr known, a shot by Burr meant to wound being slightly off and killing Hamilton.

Ellis' book is about the personalities of the men that shaped the United States during and directly after the American Revolution.

They disagree. They stab each other in the back. They reconcile. They do act more like brothers than they do the demigods we are taught to believe they are.

Washington gets called senile for taking strategic risks. Jefferson is so caught up in his ideals that he will lie to himself to uphold them. John Adams takes years to reconcile the fact that Jefferson's version of history is more suited to the history books than his own.

Founding Brothers is an illuminating book that should be on all U.S. History class reading lists.