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Biography & Autobiography Historical

John Marshall

Definer of a Nation

by (author) Jean Edward Smith

Publisher
Henry Holt and Co.
Initial publish date
Mar 1998
Category
Historical, Military, Political
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780805013894
    Publish Date
    Nov 1996
    List Price
    $55.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780805055108
    Publish Date
    Mar 1998
    List Price
    $47.5

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Where to buy it

Description

A New York Times Notable Book of 1996
It was in tolling the death of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835 that the Liberty Bell cracked, never to ring again. An apt symbol of the man who shaped both court and country, whose life "reads like an early history of the United States," as the Wall Street Journal noted, adding: Jean Edward Smith "does an excellent job of recounting the details of Marshall's life without missing the dramatic sweep of the history it encompassed."
Working from primary sources, Jean Edward Smith has drawn an elegant portrait of a remarkable man. Lawyer, jurist, scholars; soldier, comrade, friend; and, most especially, lover of fine Madeira, good food, and animated table talk: the Marshall who emerges from these pages is noteworthy for his very human qualities as for his piercing intellect, and, perhaps most extraordinary, for his talents as a leader of men and a molder of consensus. A man of many parts, a true son of the Enlightenment, John Marshall did much for his country, and John Marshall: Definer of a Nation demonstrates this on every page.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Jean Edward Smith is professor of political science at the University of Toronto. Among his books are Lucius D. Clay: An American Life, and George Bush's War. He divides his time between Toronto, Mississippi, and New York.

Editorial Reviews

“A wholly satisfying modern biography that immediately establishes itself as the authoritative life.” —Joseph J. Ellis, The New York Times Book Review
“We are in Smith's debt for a richer, more accurate and more balanced view of Marshall and his achievements than we have ever had before....The best single-volume biography of the Chief Justice that we have.” —Gordon S. Wood, The New Republic