The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Founding of the Federal Republic
To the rather large body of excellent biographical and historical literature about James Madison and his impact in shaping what historians refer to as "the New Republic" may now be added Banning's (Jefferson and Madison, LJ 2/1/95) excellent study of the nation's fourth president. The focus of the current work is the keenness and constancy of Madison's intellect and the extent to which those qualities affected the eventual foundational documents of the United States. It is well researched and eloquently rendered; the main drawback is the lack of a formal bibliography, although this shortcoming is partially rectified by a detailed chapter of bibliographical references. Though it does not replace existing titles in Madisonian studies, Banning's work is an essential addition to the scholarship on the New Republic. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.William Emory Buchanan, Clarion Univ., Pa.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.