One of the best books ever written about lawyers, judges and prosecutors. Anyone familier with the legal system will find that little has changed in 400 years. Catherine Bowen was a fine writer and an excellent "popular" historian. Her biography of Lord Coke not only describes a critical period in English history, but also illuminates the origins of the concepts of ordered liberty that eventually found their way into the US Constitution. Anyone interested in either law or Anglo/American history would enjoy this book.

I loved this book, both for its history of the period and its history of English Common Law, with Sir Edward's role in the formation of that Law. Couldn't put it down.

subject. He also spent more time in England than any of the "founding fathers". This is a biography but also the history of how the British lost America thru their own stupidity. Franklin had a logical & forward thinking mind. He knew that America would not be a colony forever. That America could be ruled for much longer by a small island accross the the ocean was not reasonable. But that would happen long after he was dead. His coming of age politically was The Albany Plan of Union in 1754 which dicusses such proposals as uniting the various states & a constitution. This was all in the context of remaining in the British Empire. This book is his story of disaffection & final break with the mother country. Truly America's first world wide celbrity.

Most illuminating, well written ,historical accuracy not found in our educatonal institutions. The views of Franklin's life are incisive. The work demonstrates that he, as select other men, had the vision, the education , the conviction and the ability to follow his thoughts through to fruition. Mr. Franklin's thought about the need for a 'constitution' began its development in the 1740s, and ended in 1789 at the Phildadelphia Convention. Miss Bowen alludes to this man's quite complicated personal and private life. Franklin's liasons arte tastefully mentioned as his style of life is clearly presented. His wish for privacy is highlighed although he was outgoing and social. He remained faithful and loyal to his wife in spirit, with affection and support throughout his long married life. The emphasis of this text is on Ben Franklin's many contributions to the development of this Country,and his wisdom in the nascent field of science. He was a fierce independent thinker who cared out "these united states".

A book not to be ignored and to be put before out senior adolecents as a 'must' read.

This is one of the best written books on an historical subject I have ever read.

This book was an excellent portrait of how John Adams matured over the years from age 10 up until the signing of the Declaration of Independence, particularly how a loyal British subject became one of the primary movers of separation from the British Crown. It is a great narrative describing the slow movement from loyal individual colonies to a united country. Significant historical figures are included with more than a passing mention since they were colleagues of his, including Sam Adams, Thomas Hutchison and many more. It reads like an historical novel, not a textbook. If you want to get an interesting flavor for this portion of American history, I highly recommend this book.

John Adams and the American Revolution by Catherine
Drinker Bowen is a great biography of John Adams.
Ms. Bowen spends a great amount of time on the childhood and young manhood of Adams. She also touches on his great marriage life. This is a book that I enjoyed perhaps even more than David
McCullough's biography titled John Adams, though this book was good. I usually stay away from biographies and read more of the reference type books, I'll have to say though that this book kept my interest to the end.

This story of the Constitional Convention is a delight to read. Aside from the specifics of the Constitution, Ms. Bowen does a superb job of painting a picture of the personalities involved, and more broadly, what life was like in America in the late 18th century.

My only criticism is that the book sometimes glosses over the actual drafting of the document. While Ms. Bowen does a fine job of identifying the issues that were discussed, the explanations of how various issues were resolved are at times superficial. Perhaps because I am a lawyer I was looking for more substance than other readers might, but I think at times the desire to talk about the personalities and the times they lived in came at the expense of some of the substance of the Constitutional debate.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and learned quite a lot. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about this critical event in early American history.

After reading this book, not only do I have a greater respect for our Founding Fathers, but I also understand why Ms. Bowen used the word "Miracle" in her title. It's remarkable to think that our Constitution, which has proven durable over the past two centuries in spite of its flaws, arose out of those intense debates in Philadelphia's sweltering summer.

This book is particularly valuable for its perspective. Learning about the delegates' personalities and backgrounds was fascinating, and seeing the Convention in the context of the social and political conditions of early America was especially insightful. I also enjoyed seeing the early colonies through the eyes of foreign visitors.

If you're interested in the history of the U.S. Constitution, this book is a must (my condolences to the disgruntled high school students of previous reviews).

The Constitution was a collaberative effort of disparate interests and at the constitutional convention, it often seemed as though these interests could not possibly be reconciled. Alexander Hamilton, for example proposed an elected monarch. elected for life. Others feared any executive power vested in one person. There were so many issues that were settled by compromise. Nonetheless, there were influential people who opposed the ratification of the Constitution in their state conventions. For example, in Virginia, Patrick Henry was concerned with the vesting of power in the people as opposed to the states and vigorously opposed ratification. The debates were fascinating and this book enjoyably chronicals them. Additionally, this book gives an interesting social history of this period of American history through the eyes of foreign visitors.

The true story of Peter Tchaikowsky and Nadejda von Meck has never been told until now.

That the wife of a nobleman, a woman who was beautiful, popular, fabulously wealthy -- the mother of eleven children -- for years lavished her attention and practically devoted her entire waking and dreaming existence to a composer whom she never met is, of course, well known.

But why she did this -- why during the thirteen years of their friendship they book took extreme measures never to meet -- why she permitted Tchaikowsky to marry another woman -- why she later gave him money to get a divorce -- why Tchaikowsky alternated between the heights of exaltation in his friendship and the deoths of self-abasement and despair -- is an enigma that has never been satisfactorily explained until now.

The letters upon which this biography is based were hidden for years in Mme. von Meck's household. At the outbreak of the Revolution in Russia they were seized by the Bolsheviki; the originals are now in the possession of the Soviet Government, which has refused to release them.

But fortunately for the musical world, translations of these letters were made by Barbara von Meck, the granddaughter of Nadejda; and Catherine Drinker Bowen, author of FREE ARTIST, has reconstructed the whole story.

It is a strangely moving story, the recounting of a romance that never came to full fruition, but which found its expression in music which has delighted the world with its tragic beauty and its lilting airs.