I recently finished Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph Ellis, a Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College. The book, which tells six stories profiling the leading American statesmen of the time and chronicling the early years of the nation, deservedly received the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2001. The stories it tells include the Burr–Hamilton duel, the Compromise of 1790, the Congressional debate surrounding slavery, Washington's Farewell Address, the relationship between John and Abigail Adams, and the alternating feelings of amity and enmity in the correspondence between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. I enjoyed the book so thoroughly that I decided to send Ellis an email, reproduced below.

Professor Ellis,

I would like to preface this note by saying that never before have I written to an author, but I felt compelled to do so after I finished reading Founding Brothers.

My name is Prameet Kumar and I'll be a junior at the University of Pennsylvania this fall. I usually don't read history books, but decided to give yours a try. I was immediately mesmerized. The way you handled your subject matter was magnificent. I had known the basic facts of some of the narratives you wrote about in your book, but the intricacies and nuances that you explored truly made history come alive for me. I nearly shed a tear when your book came to an end with the powerful story of Jefferson and Adams both dying on the fiftieth anniversary of the approval of the Declaration of Independence.

Founding Brothers has ignited in me a deep desire to learn more about the birth of the American republic. I look forward to reading all the other books you have published and the books you will write in the future.

Thank you for the work you do.

Prameet Kumar
prameetkumar@gmail.com