Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr

Written by:
Nancy Isenberg
Narrated by:
Scott Brick

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
9
Narrator
1
Release Date
May 2007
Duration
19 hours 49 minutes
Summary
A controversial challenge to the works of Ron Chernow and David McCullough

Lin-Manuel Miranda's play 'Hamilton' has reignited interest in the founding fathers; and it features Aaron Burr among its vibrant cast of characters. With Fallen Founder, Nancy Isenberg plumbs rare and obscure sources to shed new light on everyone's favorite founding villain. The Aaron Burr whom we meet through Isenberg's eye-opening biography is a feminist, an Enlightenment figure on par with Jefferson, a patriot, and—most importantly—a man with powerful enemies in an age of vitriolic political fighting. Revealing the gritty reality of eighteenth-century America, Fallen Founder is the authoritative restoration of a figure who ran afoul of history and a much-needed antidote to the hagiography of the revolutionary era.
Reviews
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Seth Ellingson

A spectacular read. If you are remotely interested in history listen to this audiobook. It showcases what historical works are all about and teaches you how to confront historical narratives. You may hate Burr, love Burr, or not even know who he is, but this book is a great read, fairly short and a good narrative and pace to keep you interested. I am a historian myself and I held Burr in contempt believing all the stories and libel brought against him. However, Isenberg has a gift for History. The goal of any historical research is to deconstruct what we have believed or held in our heads one brick at a time. Isenberg does a brilliant job at this, cutting through all the malarkey we have believed about Burr. She identifies bias, agenda and finally answers why was Burr so hated? I came away from the book with a new understanding for the man. More importantly, I got a sense of how myths about the founding fathers are constructed and saw them for what they are: men. With all the virtues and vices of everyday people. In short, Isenberg is the most underrated historian nowadays and you should get this book.

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Drew H

A very interesting perspective. Aaron Burr had much less to do with the founding of the United States than the title leads you to believe. But he is an interesting character. This book is not written as a story as much as a collection of facts. It will bounce around to fill in subjects from chapter to chapter, so those expecting a storyline will probably be disappointed. But this is a very interesting book for those interested in history and wanting to go beyond the major players of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Madison.

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