James Madison led one of the most influential and prolific lives in
American history, and his story—although all too often overshadowed by
his more celebrated contemporaries—is integral to that of the nation.
Madison helped to shape our country as perhaps no other Founder:
collaborating on the Federalist Papers and the Bill of Rights, resisting
government overreach by assembling one of the nation's first political
parties (the Republicans, who became today's Democrats), and taking to
the battlefield during the War of 1812, becoming the last president to
lead troops in combat.

In this penetrating biography, eminent historian
Richard Brookhiser presents a vivid portrait of the "Father of the
Constitution," an accomplished yet humble statesman who nourished
Americans' fledgling liberty and vigorously defended the laws that have
preserved it to this day.