Constitution Day 9/17

This day commemorates the formation and signing of the Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1787. 

American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic – Joseph J. Ellis

The author is best-known for his Pulitzer and National Book Award winner, Founding Brothers. Like that book, American Creation is a collection of six essays. The topics focus on short periods when success and failure hung in the balance. 

For instance, in "The Winter," Ellis narrates George Washington and his army's starving, half-clad experience at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. Most interesting to me was the chapter "The Conspiracy" in which James Madison, in an abrupt about-face from supporting a strong federal government, teams up with Thomas Jefferson after they concluded that a strong central government would be a threat to the institution of race-based chattel slavery. 

Ellis is a coherent writer, blending research, analysis, and storytelling. Another trustworthy indicator that Ellis is worth reading is that the people who think the Founding Fathers are demigods give his books one star in Amazon reviews.