Jane Hampton Cook

This book had many flaws: (1) The writing was often atrocious: Why didn't he ask Madison to hold the seat open until he could return the following year? The possibility squeezed his principles as tightly as Louisa's preterm contractions wrenched her womb. (2) The timeline in the last section was completely fractured, repeatedly jumping forward and backward in time and place for both Louisa and John, so that it was too tedious and annoying to track what was really going on. (3) Charles and show more Kitty were basically MIA from most of the narrative, even though I think they were there every day.

However, with the exception of the absence of Charles and Kitty, the story was told in just the right amount of detail. I liked the author's brief and always relevant explanations of historical context (e.g., the Orders of Council), I liked her feel for the Adams's day-to-day life in St. Petersburg, I liked her detailed sourcing. This book helped me understand why Monroe and Jefferson got into so much debt while serving as foreign ministers, now that I see the social expectations Adams had to resist. And I have a much, much better feel for how the wars of Napoleon were related to the War of 1812. The book was definitely worth my time, but I wish it had been better written/edited. show less

It is difficult to review a historical accout of events that attempts to descibe not only the events, themselves, but also the opinions and attitudes of the players. This book is a very interesting version of this period in American history, focusing on Mrs. Madison.
I enjoyed the book and the focus on the people of the events.

I really liked this book. It did not hit on every president our country has seen but it did hit on the ones that were around when specific new technology came into play. I would really love to use this during a social studies lesson. Not only did it tell about the different technology that has helped us get to know our presidents, but it also gave many fun facts that would be great for students to know, and would probably help them enjoy the story more.

If you’re looking for a great book that expertly combines Christianity and history from the American Revolution, you might have found it. Jane Hampton Cook’s Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War is a unique publication that you will be thrilled to own.

This book is laid out to cover every day of the year with excerpts from various contemporaries of the American Revolution. Quotes from those on both sides of the Ocean are used to explore the period and the test of faith. show more Each Sunday’s page comes from a minister or religious text of the time and explores Christianity during the trials and tribulations of the war period.

There are several things that make this a great book to have.

· It is an ebook and can be taken anywhere.

· Each ‘lesson’ is short and not overly wordy. They get straight to the point.

· It uses primary sources in showing how faith was exercised during the period.

· There is a ‘lesson’ for every day of the year.

· It has an extensive bibliography you can use for further study and research.

These are not fluff lessons. They are deep and can be great launching pads for worthwhile discussions.

Note: This book was provided to me by the publisher without expectation of a positive review. show less