Reviews
"Walter Stahr's even-handed account...is riveting on the matter of negotiating tactics, as practiced by Adams, Jay and Franklin."--The Economist, For twenty five years, John Jay served his country as congressman, diplomat, chief justice, governor and polemicist, yet managed to retire beloved by everyone. Walter Stahr adds his portrait to the gallery of America's founders., "John Jay, the Founding Father most ignored by historians has long awaited a good biography. Here it is! Walter Stahr has written a sensitive, illuminating and provocative life history of Jay that will be welcomed by all who are interested in the American Revolution and the establishment of the Republic."--John Ferling, author of Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, The greatest founders--such as Washington and Jefferson--have kept even the greatest of the second tier of the nation's founding generation in the shadows. But now John Jay (1745--1829), arguably the most important of this second group, has found an admiring, skilled student in Stahr, an international lawyer in Washington. D.C. Since the last biography of Jay appeared 60 years ago, a mountain of new knowledge about the early nation has piled up, and Stahr uses it all with confidence and critical detachment. Jay had a remarkable career. He was president of the Continental Congress, secretary of foreign affairs, a negotiator of the treaty that won the United States its independence in 1783, one of three authors of The Federalist Papers , first chief justice of the Supreme Court and governor of his native New York. Very few men exceeded Jay in importance and influence. Yet he presents a problem for any biographer: he was a conservative man of unfailingly sober disposition who left his mark more in significant deeds than in memorable words and commanding decisions. Stahr, however, captures both his subject's seriousness and his thoughtful, affectionate side as son, husband, father and friend. In humanizing Jay, Stahr makes him an appealing figure accessible to a large readership and places Jay once again in the company of America's greatest statesmen, where he unquestionably belongs., "Stahr...captures both his subject's seriousness and his thoughtful, affectionate side as son, husband and father and friend. In humanizing Jay, Stahr makes him an appealing figure accessible to a large readership and places Jay once again in the company of America's greatest statesmen, where he unquestionably belongs."--Publishers Weekly, John Jay was a brilliant and fascinating statesman who, along with his friend Benjamin Franklin, helped define the values of American diplomacy. Walter Stahr writes with great insight, and this wonderful book should help restore Jay's place in the pantheon of our great Founding Fathers., Walter Stahr has not only given us a meticulous study of the life of John Jay, but one very much written in the spirit of the man. It is thorough, fair, and consistently intelligent and presented with the most scrupulous accuracy., Walter Stahr, an independent scholar, has written a fascinating, learned and beautifully written biography about a major figure of the American Revolution, one who has been too long overlooked. Mr. Stahr deserves consideration for the Pulitzer Prize for biography. His loving description of Manhattan in Jay's time filled me, a onetime New Yorker, with nostalgia... Stahr's biography, which sometimes reads like a novel because of its episodic quality, has opened up a whole new vista of the 13 colonies on the eve of battle and the miraculous aftermath that made possible the United States of America. I look forward to reading more history from this gifted scholar., John Jay, the Founding Father most ignored by historians, has long awaited a good biography. Here it is! Jay played salient roles in many crucial aspects of the founding of the nation. He served in the Continental Congress, held diplomatic posts, played a vital role in the ratification of the Constitution, sat on the Supreme Court, and was governor of New York during the intensely partisan 1790s. Now, at last, a fine biography of this exceptional man is available. Walter Stahr has written a sensitive, illuminating, and provocative life history of Jay that will be welcomed by all who are interested in the American Revolution and the establishment of the Republic., Walter Stahr's excellent new biography should reestablish Jay's standing as one of America's great statesmen. It portrays Jay's life with a balance and command of the material worthy of the subject....This biography has the considerable virtue of being justly admiring without being fawning. Stahr notes Jay's propensity to be especially sharp with some of his extended relations. And while admiring Jay's longstanding opposition to slavery, he chides him for keeping slaves of his own and not freeing them expeditiously or graciously. Stahr minces no words about the virulence of Jay's anti-Catholicism, a product of the persecution of his Huguenot forebears...Walter Stahr deserves high praise for recovering the legacy of a great American statesman, and a remarkable man., "Walter Stahr has not only given us a meticulous study of the life of John Jay, but one very much in the spirit of the man. It is thorough, fair, consistently intelligent, and presented with the most scrupulous accuracy. Let us hope that this book helps to retrieve Jay from the relative obscurity to which he has been unfairly consigned by biographical fashion in recent years."--Ron Chernow, author of Alexander Hamilton, "...Stahr has written a detailed, richly textured and nuanced biography of this almost-forgotten Founder."- Terence Ball, The Journal of American History, September 2006, "The Federalists built the foundation of our modern American government, and no Federalist leader better exemplifies their vision for a soon-to-be vast and great nation than John Jay. Walter Stahr's engrossing biography captures as no other book the complex character and profound thought of this influential American Founder."--Christopher Cox, Member of Congress and Chairman, House Policy Committee, "A fascinating, learned and beautifully written biography of a major figure of the American Revolution, one who has been too long overlooked. Mr. Stahr deserves consideration for the Pulitzer Prize."--Washington Times, "For twenty-five years, John Jay served his country as congressman, diplomat, chief justice, governor and polemicist, yet managed to retire beloved by everyone. Walter Stahr adds his portrait to the gallery of America's founders."--Richard Brookhiser, author of Gentleman Revolutionary: Gouverneur Morris, the Rake Who Wrote the Constitution, "Stahr has succeeded splendidly in his aim of recovering the reputation of John Jay as a major founder. His biography is a reliable and clearly written account [and] makes a persuasive case for including Jay among the first rank of Revolutionary leaders."--Gordon S. Wood in the New York Review of Books, "Walter Stahr's excellent new biography should re-establish Jay's standing as one of America's great statesmen. It portrays Jay's life with a balance and command of the material worthy of the subject."--Weekly Standard, "This wonderful book should restore Jay's place in the pantheon of our great Founding Fathers."--Walter Isaacson, John Jay's writings lacked Jefferson's passionate eloquence in defense of liberty; his demeanor did not radiate the gravitas of Washington; he apparently did not share Madison's zest for and grasp of political theory. Yet, as this well-done biography illustrates, Jay was a vital figure in the founding of our republic, and he deserves an ample share of credit for the nurturing of our nation in its infancy. Stahr, an international lawyer, has written a fast-paced narrative account of Jay's life that stresses his deep religious connections, strength of moral character, and dedication to duty. By nature, Jay was conservative, and he was a reluctant revolutionary with the usual Federalist fears about unrestrained democracy. As an attorney and as first chief justice of the Supreme Court, he understood implicitly the need for the rule of law to prevail over the tendency to seek salvation from "great" men. He was a gifted diplomat whose negotiations in Europe helped our vulnerable nation to avoid conflicts with European powers, and he was an effective governor of New York.
