# Recommend biographies of Madison, Monroe, Hamilton, or Jay **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-biographies-of-madison-monroe-hamilton-or-jay/523687 "2010-01-04T22:44:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-biographies-of-madison-monroe-hamilton-or-jay/523687/1 "2010-01-04T22:44:07Z")
I’ve read bios of many of the founding fathers, but have missed these 4 giants. I know I could just google, but there are biographies, and then there are great biographies. Can anyone recommend some good ones of James Madison, or James Monroe, or Alexander Hamilton, or John Jay? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-biographies-of-madison-monroe-hamilton-or-jay/523687/2 "2010-01-05T05:13:33Z")
[Alexander Hamilton](http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Hamilton-Ron-Chernow/dp/1594200092) by Ron Chernow is outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-biographies-of-madison-monroe-hamilton-or-jay/523687/3 "2010-01-05T15:54:15Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-biographies-of-madison-monroe-hamilton-or-jay/523687/4 "2010-01-05T16:03:53Z")
Another vote for Chernow’s bio of Hamilton. It really is _very_ good. I learned not long ago that Chernow is now working on a bio of Washington, which I’m very much looking forward to. There’s a bit about all four men in Joseph Ellis’s excellent and Pulitzer Prize-winning _Founding Brothers_, and also his more recent (and not quite as good) _American Creation_, but off the top of my head I don’t know of any stand-alone bios of the other three, although I’m sure they’re out there. Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick’s fine _The Age of Federalism_ has short profiles of most of the Framers, too, and is definitely worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-biographies-of-madison-monroe-hamilton-or-jay/523687/5 "2010-01-05T16:46:55Z")
Thanks. I’ve read _Founding Brothers_; maybe I’ll look for _The Age of Federalism_.