Virtue, Valor, & Vanity by Eric Burns

Virtue, Valor, & Vanity by Eric Burns

Washington, Adams, Henry, Jefferson, Franklin, and Hamilton: their ambitions, intrigues, and jealousies shaped the birth of the nation, but they overcame their foibles and imperfections to throw off the chains of tyranny and form a more perfect union. We think of them now as faces on money or statues on pedestals, and, as Burns illustrates in luminous prose, that's exactly what they always wanted to be. They all possessed astonishing brilliance, but many had large egos and more than just a little vanity, especially John Adams, who never felt he received his public due and often complained in his letters about the unjust fame of his peers. History remembers Patrick Henry as the author of the patriotic call to arms, give me liberty, or give me death but, at the beginning of his life in the public eye, he shamelessly traded integrity for renown.

Interest in the founding fathers has never been greater; Virtue, Valor, and Vanity presents all of these well-known and oft-quoted men with wisdom and candor. In this fresh, informative work, Burns brings the founding fathers down off their pedestals to reveal the flesh-and-blood men--vain and modest, sensitive and stubborn, brilliant and ambitious--who attempted to overcome their faults in order to establish a new nation that would be a paragon of governance. For the armchair historian, here is an exciting new look at our country's origins.

Eric Burns has won major awards in three distinct genres. His literary talents, in other words are almost uniquely diverse. His first play captured the Eudora Welty Emerging Playwrights Competition in 2010, and had its World Premiere at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in 2012. He was named one of the best writers in the history of television journalism, joining such luminaries as Edward R. Murrow, Charles Kuralt, Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley. He also took home an Emmy for writing commentary. As an author, his 1920: The Year That Made the Decade Roar was chosen as one of the best non-fiction books of 2015. Two of his other volumes won the highest award given by the American Library Association, being selected as the Best of the Best in 2004 (his history of alcohol) and 2007 (his history of tobacco). Burns does not smoke or drink. Mid-Strut is his first novel.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781611452921
ISBN 10	1611452929
Title	Virtue, Valor, & Vanity
Author	Eric Burns
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Skyhorse Publishing
Year published	2011-11-01
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.