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"The author of the best-selling The Founding Brothers and The Quartet now gives us a deeply insightful examination of the relevance of Jefferson's, Madison's, and Adams's views to some of the most divisive issues in American politics and society today. The story of history is a ceaseless conversation between past and present, and in American Dialogue, Joseph Ellis uses the perspective of the present to shed light on the views of the Founding Fathers. Examining four of the most seminal historical figures through the prism of particular topics, he makes clear how their now centuries-old ideas illuminate the disturbing impasse of today's political conflicts. He discusses Jefferson and the issue of racism, Adams and the specter of economic inequality, Washington and American imperialism, Madison and the doctrine of original intent. Through these juxtapositions--and in his hallmark dramatic and compelling narrative voice--Ellis illuminates the obstacles and pitfalls paralyzing contemporary discussions of these fundamentally important issues"--