James Madison and the Making of America

By: Kevin R. C. Gutzman

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

In James Madison and the Making of America, historian Kevin Gutzman looks beyond the way James Madison is traditionally seen - as "The Father of the Constitution” - to find a more complex and sometimes contradictory portrait of this influential Founding Father and the ways in which he influenced the spirit of today's United States.

Instead of an idealized portrait of Madison, Gutzman treats listeners to the flesh-and-blood story of a man who often performed his founding deeds in spite of himself: Madison's fame rests on his participation in the writing of The Federalist Papers and his role in drafting the Bill of Rights and Constitution.

Today, his contribution to those documents is largely misunderstood. Madison thought that the Bill of Rights was unnecessary and insisted that it not be included in the Constitution, a document he found entirely inadequate and predicted would soon fail. He helped to create the first American political party, the first party to call itself “Republican”, but only after he had argued that political parties, in general, were harmful. Madison served as Secretary of State and then as President during the early years of the United States and the War of 1812; however, the American foreign policy he implemented in 1801-1817 ultimately resulted in the British burning down the Capitol and the White House.

In so many ways, the contradictions both in Madison's thinking and in the way he governed foreshadowed the conflicted state of our Union now.

His greatest legacy - the disestablishment of Virginia's state church and adoption of the libertarian Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom - is often omitted from discussion of his career. Yet, understanding the way in which Madison saw the relationship between the church and state is key to understanding the real man.

Kevin Gutzman's James Madison and the Making of America promises to become the standard biography of our fourth President.

©2012 Kevin R. C. Gutzman (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Recaptures the drama and excitement of the new nation's bold experiment in republican self-government." (Peter S. Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History, University of Virginia)

Inconsistent story flow

Story was decent. Not clear breaks in the telling of Madison 's life. The story does not do a great job of really explaining the litany of accomplishments of Madison's lfe.

Is it live or is it Memorex?

Would you try another book from Kevin R. C. Gutzman and/or Arthur Morey?

I would try another book by Gutzman.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I'm sorry to report Morey sounded more like a computer than a person. I've never returned a book but I should have. This was really challenging to stay awake through.

The ratification of the Constitution in Virginia

If you could sum up James Madison and the Making of America in three words, what would they be?

very detailed

If you’ve listened to books by Kevin R. C. Gutzman before, how does this one compare?

It's the only one I've listed to narrated by him.

What does Arthur Morey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

nothing

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

The extreme detail about the debates and votes regarding ratifying the US Constitution in the Virginia legislature was tedious.

Not a traditional biography

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book with caveats as parts are quite slow going.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kevin R. C. Gutzman? Why or why not?

Sure, with careful attention to others' comments about the nature of the book.

Which character – as performed by Arthur Morey – was your favorite?

James Madison is the only one who stood out.

Was James Madison and the Making of America worth the listening time?

Yes, for a different perspective on the law-making processes of the time.

Any additional comments?

With all the detailed accounts of the 'ayes' and 'nays' in the law-making process, it is challenging at times to stay engaged.

wonderful level of detail.

Very scholarly. Good Madison and not such much Madison explored in detail. Good experience as addition to other Madison bios.

Who was James Madison

As was declared by many, during the time Madison lived and worked for a vision of government of and by the people. And for it’s continued improvement. He did not let “Perfection become the enemy of the Good”! Without Madison and others the US Constitution would not have come into being. The miracle that it did. Madison can rightly be judged to be the major actor.

James Madison and the Tedium of America's Founding

First let me say I love biographies and this is one of the first that I can't get through. I'm stuck at 3/4 of the way and don't know if I can make it. Actually, it's not really a biography at all since you won't really end up knowing Madison the man. However, you will have read the entire transcript of the Constitutional Convention and the Virginia ratification deliberations.

For all Madison's mental prowess and philosophical rigor, the sheer weight of the author's obsession with the minutiae of the various Conventions is just plain boring. This reads like a very good doctoral dissertation expanded into a not so good book. I will probably finish it just because I got this far, and just to see if Gutzman even mentions James meeting Dolly. But if you download this book, be prepared for a long slog.

OHHH, and the most annoying thing is the pretentious affect of the narrator who (nearly) always pronounces the many, many days and dates as, "...from January first, seventeen hundred seventy-one to January second, seventeen hundred seventy-one the delegates discussed Article III..." However, sometimes he slips and resorts to the normal, "January first, seventeen seventy-one". After a while I became fixated not on the action (or lack thereof) but on whether he would use the archaic long form or slip and use the contemporary short form.

I'm currently searching for a another biography that will let me get to know this likely very amazing man and politician.

Surprisingly little about Madison

What disappointed you about James Madison and the Making of America?

The fact that there is very little in this book about James Madison. It's more a telling of the constitution from the Madisonian perspective. This book could have just as easily been a summary of Madison's policy perspectives in bullet form. The entire story of Madison's upbringing is basically one line: "Madison grew up in a wealthy family." That's it.

What was most disappointing about Kevin R. C. Gutzman’s story?

I don't know a thing about James Madison the man from reading this, and I'll have to find another source if I want to get any insight into the basis for his decision making.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

YEah

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from James Madison and the Making of America?

I wouldn't have signed this book at all - or if I did, I would have changed the title to deemphasize the book's focus on Madison.

Any additional comments?

Absolutely painful to get through - I have two political science degrees and the Leviticus like nature of describing policy actions nearly caused me to fall asleep while driving down the road on at least a few occasions.

Nothing me

just a REALLY drawn out recap of early American history and a REALLY REALLY long detailed account of the drafting of the constitution.

Perhaps the most boring thing...ever.

What would have made James Madison and the Making of America better?

A different narrator...and a complete overhaul of the book. How about making it a bio of Madison rather than an extended examination of the Federalist Papers and a minute-by-minute history of the Philadelphia Convention?

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm not sure...after several great audiobooks, this one was so bad as to actually turn me off the format for the time being.

Would you be willing to try another one of Arthur Morey’s performances?

Absolutely not, this is the driest, most dead-voiced, bland, coma-inducing reader I have ever heard. I honestly fell asleep to this thing at least a half-dozen times.

What character would you cut from James Madison and the Making of America?

I'd like to add a character, namely, James Madison, since I learned virtually nothing about him.

Any additional comments?

I cannot overstate how tedious this book is, and how poorly it works as a bio. The reader is beyond terrible and the content is less a Madison bio than it is a very detailed examination of the Federalist Papers and the Philadelphia Convention.