“This is a stunning achievement. Few people know the Founders well enough and contemporary issues well enough to have put together such a book, and even fewer have Brookhiser’s skill at telling the story in so fascinating a way.”
—Forrest McDonald, author of The American Presidency and Alexander Hamilton
“Richard Brookhiser has undertaken a daunting task—addressing the questions and concerns of 21st century Americans to our 18th century founding fathers. Brookhiser applies the principles and practices of the founders to the problems of our time, and he does so in his usual elegant and witty manner. In so doing he reminds us of the wisdom of the founders, but more importantly, he reminds us of the enduring nature of the fundamental problems confronting a free society.”
—Stephen Knott, author of Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth
“What a great piece of work it is! Lively throughout, full of relaxed authority, and with what I really think might be the most stirring final paragraph written by an American since The Great Gatsby.”
—Richard Snow, editor, American Heritage
“Richard Brookhiser, inspired perhaps by a Christian motto—‘What Would Jesus Do?’ (WWJD)—has come up with a way to describe the views of the architects of the American republic that is as entertaining as it is informative… With a rare union of wit and scholarship, What Would the Founders Do? presents history as a source of continuing debates, rather than a set of answers.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The short answers [Brookhiser] gives for each question can be serious or witty and are often infused with interesting historical facts.”
—Library Journal
“Mr. Brookhiser writes with grace and economy, and his scholarship in What Would the Founders Do? is sound.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“I doubt, though, that there will be many unsatisfied readers. This is that rare book that’s informative and delightful, clever and wise… Showing off both his felicitous writing style and his droll charm, one of America’s best historians has triumphed again.”
—NY Post
“A very enjoyable book that portrays the world and thought of our original citizen/leaders to good effect. It’s a fast read, but thorough and filled with Revolution-era detail.”
—Indianapolis Star
“In speculating on the Founders’ answers to contemporary questions—from WMD and American imperialism to school vouchers and the English Only movement, from gun control to women's liberation—Brookhiser has performed an important service.”
—National Review