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Rating: 
Summary: Safire does it again!
Review: I have long been a fan of William Safire and he did not let me down with this book. He is a master of the English language and uses it with such descriptive ease. I could not put this book down. Safire effortlessly weaves this historical tale with yarns of fact, humor, and tradegy. The book is obviously well researched and brilliantly compiled. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in history. I have lent out my Safire books to many people and have made life long fans out of each. My only complaint was that I could not read it fast enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Vacuous
Review: I love history reads, and particularly so when it seems relevant to me in some way. I'm probably related to Thomas Callender, so I doubly expected to be glued to this book for a weekend. Sadly, this book was so dry and devoid of historical value in the first 5-10 pages that I just couldn't keep enough interest to pay attention after that and sent it to another relative, who I hope won't hold that against me too much.
Rating:
Summary: Vacuous
Review: I love history reads, and particularly so when it seems relevant to me in some way. I'm probably related to Thomas Callender, so I doubly expected to be glued to this book for a weekend. Sadly, this book was so dry and devoid of historical value in the first 5-10 pages that I just couldn't keep enough interest to pay attention after that and sent it to another relative, who I hope won't hold that against me too much.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read!
Review: I thought this book was great, especially since it made my reading list as a "should" not a "want to". Reading this novel, and keeping track of all the players, with a full understanding of all the political issues of the time made me feel smart. (Trust me, I realize how dumb you think I am now.) This is what the other reviewers are talking about when they describe "Scandalmonger" as being what history class should have been like, and when they describe how engrossing they find each episode. Safire engages the reader by providing enough information on each character to bring them alive, and his explanations of the motivations of the characters make them believable. He is also highly successful in revealing the story-behind-the-story, which readers always love. Add "Scandalmonger" to your reading list. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: fun, historical entertainment
Review: If the book receives a five '*' then the audio version should get a ten!!! The reader is an actor who successfully portrays women, men, foreigners, Southerners, New Englanders with equal virtuosity. This format made the already good historical novel a great one. The philosophical infighting and political cat-fighting of the period are not hard to find if one scratches the surface. This book traces the origins of the two party system through the lives of those who stood out in this era - Washington, Adams, Madison, Monroe but particularly Jefferson, Hamilton and the hilariously outrageous newspapermen of the day. Some are shocked to hear these icons so bitterly detested one another and in particular the many shenanigans of Jefferson who always contradicted his grand ideas with smarmy deeds. But the novel sets off in a new direction and the muckrakers become the heart and soul of the story. The language is incredible for its fidelity to the style of the time - though some are actual quotes from letters and papers - and indeed it reads like a historical diary. The story is also told from several points of view - Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams and best of all, the glorious muckrakers. It sounds odd, but the story had pathos, excitement and incredible amounts of humor. Especially considerate was the appendix at the end that traced the lives of the main characters in the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Quite Remarkable!
Review: One of the finest historical novels I have read, William Safire's Scandalmonger is a book about the early tests endured by freedom of the press as defined in the United States Constitution. Based on actual characters and events, Safire brings to life the fundamental freedoms the founding fathers sought to curtail when it suited their tenure in power. The Alien and Sedition Acts were the first assault on our Constitution and occurred at a time when our fledgling Constitution was really a grand set of ideals as opposed to the foundation of American law and liberty that it has evolved into today. Safire's tale is intriguing: Many of our currently venerated heroes, Adams, Monroe, and Jefferson to name just a few, are all shown to have feet of clay. No one individual or group is singled out. All are guilty of trying to deny or to conform freedom to their particular wants, needs and desires. It is actually scary to think that the truth was at one time not an allowable defense against a charge of sedition in the United States. Very broad in scope, yet detailed in its examination, this is a fine work by a very fine author. I can only hope Mr. Safire elects to evaluate and explain the evolution of other freedoms we so thoughtlessly take for granted today.
Rating: 
Summary: Scandalmongering of his own
Review: Safire writes an entertaining, educational piece of fiction. The lengths to which he goes to separate fact from fiction only highlights what I believe to be the true weakness of the book, that Safire is himself scandalmongering. By dragging us through the human frailaties of Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Hamilton and Burr, Safire's inuendo is that there is little difference between politics and personalities then and now. Also, there is little difference between partisan press then and now. I don't buy his argument. The ideologues of the early 19th century were fighting to shape the character of an infant nation. History has lionized these men as the Founding Fathers. The truth that they were far from perfect humans and driven by common impulses of humanity does not detract from what these men on both sides accomplished. Throughout the book there is an undercurrent that today's scandals actually pale by comparison to these early issues. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Today's scandals do not occur on a backdrop of a nation stuggling to define itself. Rather they showcase an individual possessed with more power than anyone else on earth abusing the charisma of his office for self gradification. I'll give the book 5 stars for accuracy, subtract one for duplicity and one for his own scandalmongering.
Rating:
Summary: Safire delievers another brilliant piece of Histo-FicWriting
Review: The book scandelmonger is brilliant. It is deliciously eventful in the descriptiveness Safire uses to describe our American politican's dark side. Bottom Line is but this book if you would like to be engrossed in a range of important politicans, writings, and thinkers. Characters include a list of : Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, James Callender(the scandalmonger), William Porcupine (of Porcupine Cazzette), William Duane, Benjaming Bache, Alexandar Hamilton, Aaron Burr. If you are not a current rader of American Historical-Fiction you will be after this experience.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent historical novel
Review: This book dovetails nicely into the same period and subjects of two other works I have read recently, "Founding Brothers" and "American Aurora", both of which I enjoyed. This work details the Federalist period from 1790 onward, and the opening years of the Jefferson presidency, and covers the ground very well. It is a novel, of course, but so well written it seems as if Safire was a fly on the wall in the various locales of the tale, and took down verbatim the words of the characters, historical figures all. His language is excellent, as is to be expected from this writer, who is a grammar maven. Once or twice, however, I seemed to detect a hint that some of the historical events were talked about a tad before they acutually happened, and once or twice there was some duplication, which should have been caught by a more zealous editor. They didn't detract from my enjoyment of this work, and I recommend it to anyone interested in this period of American history, and in particular, interested in the human side of the historical drama.
Rating:
Summary: If only they had taught High School History like this....
Review: Too good to put down. I called in sick so I could stay home and read it. History is not usually a subject I consider entertaining but this book is a pageturner! It's wonderful and interesting to read about the true passion for their cause and the machiavellian ruthlessness that our founding fathers were willing to use in order to help form a more "perfect union". Historical figures come alive and you get a sense of the enormity of the effects that they knew could happen based on what they did in the early years of our country. The manipulation of the press and behind doors political wheeling and dealing are still alive today. This should be required reading in schools...
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