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Sign up todayWhat Kind of Nation
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Learn moreThe bitter and protracted struggle between President Thomas Jefferson and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall defined the basic constitutional relationship between the executive and judicial branches of government. More than 150 years later, their clashes still reverberate in constitutional debates and political battles.
In this dramatic and fully accessible account of these titans of the early republic and their fiercely held ideas, James F. Simon brings to life the early history of the nation and sheds new light on the highly charged battle to balance the powers of the federal government and the rights of the states. A fascinating look at two of the nation's greatest statesmen and shrewdest politicians, What Kind of Nation presents a cogent, unbiased assessment of their lasting impact on American government.
James F. Simon is the Martin Professor of Law at New York Law School. A former correspondent and contributing editor at Time magazine and the author of several critically acclaimed books on judicial history, including The Antagonists and The Center Holds, he lives with his wife in West Nyack, New York.
John Lescault has been an audiobook narrator for over twenty-five years and has recorded more than three hundred titles, spanning works of fiction and nonfiction. He has also provided narration for NPR’s Performance Today, Nightline, and Deaf Mosaic. He has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra as Beethoven and Dvorak at the Kennedy Center.
Reviews
“Simon’s excellent venture in legal and political history illuminates both the roots of an ongoing controversy and the characters of two great historic figures.”
“The narrative requires clarity and balance, and Patrick Cullen’s delivery provides both.”
“A model of narrative history written by someone who knows the law.”
“Simon’s book illumines the origins of a national political debate that continues today.”
“An epic of the founding, featuring fascinating antagonists, enormous consequences, and alternating episodes of nobility and treachery.”
“What Kind of Nation is a fine read.”
“James Simon has written a legal suspense story…[that] helps us to understand the court battles that go on today, no less partisan, no less urgent.”
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