Virtue, Valor, & Vanity

the long version

See the Founding Fathers as you never have before. We think of them now as faces on money or statues on pedestals, and, as Burns shows here in luminous prose, that's exactly what they wanted to be. They all possessed astonishing brilliance, expansive egos, and more than just a little vanity. In this fresh perspective, Burns brings the Founding Fathers down off their pedestals to reveal the flesh-and-blood men -- vain and modest, sensitive and stubborn, brilliant and ambitious -- who overcame their faults and squabbles to establish a new nation that would shine as a paragon of governance. For the armchair historian, here is an exciting new look at our country's origins. - Back cover.