Setting the World Ablaze

"Powerful and fascinating....An immensely readable, well-researched volume that emphasizes the importance of individual choice and personal aspiration in the unfolding of a great historical event."--Frank A. Cassell, History "Ferling compares and contrasts Washington with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, and in so doing provides an interesting case study of the factors that enable a few remarkable men to ride the tide of history and, ultimately, to shape it."--American History "John Ferling tracks the careers of three leading revolutionaries in this entertaining history of the American Revolution....[An] engrossing study."--The American Historical Review "A thorough exploration of the lives of Washington,Adams, and Jefferson, and a consideration of their personal motives for participating in the American Revolution...Ferling's effective demystification of those three Founding Fathers transforms them from two-dimensional icons into remarkable and fascinating men and captures their passionate struggles to form a new republican nation."--Kirkus Reviews "John Ferling places Jefferson, Adams and Washington--the bard, the workhorse, and the leader of men--in relation to the Revolution and to each other. Jefferson is down, Adams is up, Washington remains first in war, and Ferling is a clear winner for sweep and instruction."--Richard Brookhiser, author of Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, American "A major work, resting on formidable and impeccable scholarship. It tells a fascinating story of a crucial chapter in American history, and brings that story to life through the experiences of three unquestioned giants of the era. Ferling shows that John Adams is perhaps the most under-appreciated hero of the American Revolution, and brings Washington down from Mount Rushmore as a great but human figure."--Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson and Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams