MARC Record from marc_nuls

LEADER: 03531cam 2200385 a 4500
001 9922199110001661
005 20150423142738.0
008 030224s2003 nyuab b 001 0beng
010 $a 2003044353
020 $a0743223799 (alk. paper)
020 $a0743256026 (pbk. )
035 $a(CSdNU)u252133-01national_inst
035 $a(OCoLC)51810636
035 $a(OCoLC)51810636
040 $aDLC$cDLC$dWSL$dBAKER$dCNU
043 $an-us---$an-us-ny
049 $aCNUM
050 00 $aE302.6.M7$bB76 2003
082 00 $a973.4/092$aB$221
100 1 $aBrookhiser, Richard.
245 10 $aGentleman revolutionary :$bGouverneur Morris, the rake who wrote the Constitution /$cRichard Brookhiser.
260 $aNew York :$bFree Press,$cc2003.
300 $axvii, 251 p., [8] p. of plates :$bill., map ;$c24 cm.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 241-244) and index.
520 $aSince 1996, Richard Brookhiser has devoted himself to recovering the Founding for modern Americans. The creators of our democracy had both the temptations and the shortcomings of all men, combined with the talents and idealism of the truly great. Among them, no Founding Father demonstrates the combination of temptations and talents quite so vividly as the least known of the greats, Gouverneur Morris. His story is one that should be known by every American--he drafted the Constitution, and his hand lies behind many of its most important phrases. Yet he has been lost in the shadows of the Founders who became presidents and faces on our currency. As Brookhiser shows in this narrative, Morris's story is not only crucial to the Founding, it is also one of the most entertaining and instructive of all. Gouverneur Morris, more than Washington, Jefferson, or even Franklin, is the Founding Father whose story can most readily touch our hearts, and whose character is most sorely needed today. He was a witty, peg-legged ladies' man. He was an eyewitness to two revolutions (American and French) who joked with George Washington, shared a mistress with Talleyrand, and lost friends to the guillotine. In his spare time he gave New York City its street grid and New York State the Erie Canal. His keen mind and his light, sure touch helped make our Constitution the most enduring fundamental set of laws in the world. In his private life, he pleased the ladies until, at age fifty-seven, he settled down with one lady (and pleased her) and lived the life of a gentleman, for whom grace and humanity were as important as birth. He kept his good humor through war, mobs, arson, death, and two accidents that burned the flesh from one of his arms and cut off one of his legs below the knee. Above all, he had the gift of a sunny disposition that allowed him to keep his head in any troubles. We have much to learn from him, and much pleasure to take in his company.
600 10 $aMorris, Gouverneur,$d1752-1816.
610 10 $aUnited States.$tConstitution$xSigners$vBiography.
650 0 $aStatesmen$zUnited States$vBiography.
651 0 $aUnited States$xHistory$yRevolutionary period, 1775-1783$vBiography.
651 0 $aNew York (State)$xHistory$yRevolutionary period, 1775-1783 $vBiography.
651 0 $aUnited States$xPolitics and government$y1775-1783.
651 0 $aUnited States$xPolitics and government$y1783-1789.
938 $aBaker & Taylor$bBKTY$c26.00$d19.50$i0743223799$n0004159720$sactive
994 $aC0$bCNU
999 $aE 302.6 .M7 B76 2003$wLC$c1$i31786102019434$lCIRCSTACKS$mNULS$rY$sY $tBOOK$u8/16/2005