Joseph J. Ellis

American historian and author specializing in the American Revolutionary era and the Founding Fathers; longtime professor at Mount Holyoke College and author of popular works on early U.S. history.

Books

Ranked Books All Books

This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.

  1. 1. Passionate Sage

    The Character and Legacy of John Adams
    Cover of 'Passionate Sage' by Joseph J. Ellis

    A concise portrait of John Adams that probes how his combative temperament, moral seriousness, and fierce intellect shaped his public career—from Revolutionary advocate and diplomat to president—and left a complicated legacy in American political life; drawing on letters and political episodes, the book reassesses his clashes with contemporaries, his commitment to principle over popularity, and the private partnership that tempered his passions while defining his contribution to the republic.

  2. 2. The Great Contradiction

    Cover of 'The Great Contradiction' by Joseph J. Ellis

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