Penguin Random House Higher Education
Elementary Secondary Higher Ed

Higher Education


Catalogs

News

Desk/Exam
(0)
Wish List
(0)
Wish List
  • Higher Education

    • Business & Economics
        • Business & Economics
        • Accounting
        • Business
        • Economics
        • Finance
        • Management
        • Management Information Services
        • Marketing

        • Browse All Disciplines & Courses in Business & Economics
    • Humanities & Social Sciences
        • Humanities & Social Sciences
        • Anthropology
        • Art
        • Communication
        • Education
        • English
        • Film Studies
        • History
        • Interdisciplinary Studies
        • Music
        •  
        • Performing Arts
        • Philosophy
        • Political Science
        • Psychology
        • Religion
        • Social Work
        • Sociology
        • Student Success and Career Development
        • World Languages

        • Browse All Disciplines & Courses in Humanities & Social Sciences
    • Professional Studies
        • Professional Studies
        • Architecture
        • Criminal Justice
        • Culinary, Hospitality, Travel , and Tourism
        • Healthcare Professions
        • Legal and Paralegal Studies
        • Military Science

        • Browse All Disciplines & Courses in Professional Studies
    • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
        • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
        • Biology
        • Chemistry
        • Computer Science
        • Computers & Information Systems
        • Engineering
        • Environmental Science
        •  
        • Geography
        • Geology
        • Health and Kinesiology
        • Mathematics
        • Nutrition
        • Physics and Astronomy

        • Browse All Disciplines & Courses in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
    • Catalogs
    • News
    • Desk/Exam
    • Other Penguin Random House Education Sites
    • Elementary Education
    • Secondary Education
Are you still there?
If not, we’ll close this session in:
Download high-resolution image

Revolutionary Characters

What Made the Founders Different

Author Gordon S. Wood
Ebook
$14.99 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Books
On sale May 18, 2006 | 336 Pages | 978-1-101-20166-4
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies
See Additional Formats
  • History > Period History: U.S. > American Revolution (1754-1783)
  • History > Period History: U.S. > Colonial American History (1492 - 1776)
  • History > Period History: U.S. > Constitutional Convention
  • History > Survey Courses > U.S. History Survey – Colonial to 1865
  • Political Science > American Government and Politics > American Government
  • About
  • Author
In this brilliantly illuminating group portrait of the men who came to be known as the Founding Fathers, the incomparable Gordon Wood has written a book that seriously asks, "What made these men great?" and shows us, among many other things, just how much character did in fact matter. The life of each—Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, Paine—is presented individually as well as collectively, but the thread that binds these portraits together is the idea of character as a lived reality. They were members of the first generation in history that was self-consciously self-made men who understood that the arc of lives, as of nations, is one of moral progress.
Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University. His 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787, received the Bancroft and John H. Dunning prizes and was nominated for the National Book Award. Wood’s 1992 book, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Emerson Prize. His 2009 book, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815, won the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize. In 2010, Wood was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Obama. He contributes regularly to the New Republic and the New York Review of Books. View titles by Gordon S. Wood

About

In this brilliantly illuminating group portrait of the men who came to be known as the Founding Fathers, the incomparable Gordon Wood has written a book that seriously asks, "What made these men great?" and shows us, among many other things, just how much character did in fact matter. The life of each—Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, Paine—is presented individually as well as collectively, but the thread that binds these portraits together is the idea of character as a lived reality. They were members of the first generation in history that was self-consciously self-made men who understood that the arc of lives, as of nations, is one of moral progress.

Author

Gordon S. Wood is the Alva O. Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus at Brown University. His 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787, received the Bancroft and John H. Dunning prizes and was nominated for the National Book Award. Wood’s 1992 book, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Emerson Prize. His 2009 book, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815, won the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize. In 2010, Wood was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Obama. He contributes regularly to the New Republic and the New York Review of Books. View titles by Gordon S. Wood

Additional formats

  • Revolutionary Characters
    Revolutionary Characters
    What Made the Founders Different
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311208-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 29, 2007
  • Revolutionary Characters
    Revolutionary Characters
    What Made the Founders Different
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-1-4295-8629-0
    $20.00 US
    Audiobook Download
    Penguin Audio
    May 18, 2006
  • Revolutionary Characters
    Revolutionary Characters
    What Made the Founders Different
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311208-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 29, 2007
  • Revolutionary Characters
    Revolutionary Characters
    What Made the Founders Different
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-1-4295-8629-0
    $20.00 US
    Audiobook Download
    Penguin Audio
    May 18, 2006

Other Books by this Author

  • Friends Divided
    Friends Divided
    John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-7352-2473-5
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Oct 23, 2018
  • The Idea of America
    The Idea of America
    Reflections on the Birth of the United States
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-312124-4
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jun 26, 2012
  • The Purpose of the Past
    The Purpose of the Past
    Reflections on the Uses of History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311504-5
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jan 27, 2009
  • The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-303528-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 31, 2005
  • The American Revolution
    The American Revolution
    A History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-8129-7041-8
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Modern Library
    Aug 19, 2003
  • The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-679-73688-2
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Mar 02, 1993
  • Friends Divided
    Friends Divided
    John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-7352-2473-5
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Oct 23, 2018
  • The Idea of America
    The Idea of America
    Reflections on the Birth of the United States
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-312124-4
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jun 26, 2012
  • The Purpose of the Past
    The Purpose of the Past
    Reflections on the Uses of History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-311504-5
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    Jan 27, 2009
  • The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-14-303528-2
    $18.00 US
    Paperback
    Penguin Books
    May 31, 2005
  • The American Revolution
    The American Revolution
    A History
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-8129-7041-8
    $17.00 US
    Paperback
    Modern Library
    Aug 19, 2003
  • The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    The Radicalism of the American Revolution
    Gordon S. Wood
    978-0-679-73688-2
    $19.00 US
    Paperback
    Vintage
    Mar 02, 1993
 Keep in touch!
Sign up for news from Penguin Random House Higher Education.
Subscribe
Connect with Us!

Get the latest news on all things Higher Education. Learn about our books, authors, teacher events, and more!

Friend us on Facebook!

Follow us on Twitter!

Subscribe on YouTube!

Our mission is to foster a universal passion for reading by partnering with authors to help create stories and communicate ideas that inform, entertain, and inspire.

Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Use

© 2023 Penguin Random House

About Higher Education

  • About Us
  • Digital Solutions
  • FAQs
  • Conferences
  • Submit a desk/exam request
  • Contact your Higher Education Account Manager
  • Browse & subscribe to our newsletters

Penguin Random House Education

  • Elementary
  • Secondary
  • Higher Ed
  • Common Reads

Penguin Random House

  • penguinrandomhouse.com
  • global.penguinrandomhouse.com
  • Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau

About Higher Education

  • About Us
  • Digital Solutions
  • FAQs
  • Conferences

Penguin Random House Education

  • Elementary
  • Secondary
  • Higher Ed
  • Common Reads
  • Submit a desk/exam request
  • Contact your Higher Education Account Manager
  • Browse & subscribe to our newsletters

Penguin Random House

  • penguinrandomhouse.com
  • global.penguinrandomhouse.com
  • Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau

Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Use

© 2023 Penguin Random House
Back to Top