Edmund Randolph: A Biography

Edmund Randolph had the misfortune of being a capable moderate in an age of brilliant extremists. A lifelong seeker of the middle road, he could seldom operate effectively without two poles of opinion between which to balance. Although he played an important (and sometimes paradoxical) role in the formation of the U.S. Constitution, his appointments as America's first Attorney General and second Secretary of State were almost entirely due to George Washington's estimation of his friendship, aptitude, and integrity. Once Washington felt his trust in Randolph betrayed, the Virginia lawyer quickly faded into political and historical obscurity. Reardon's biography of Randolph is sympathetic and melancholy, poignant in its sense of lost opportunity. The writing, though clear, lacks the fire of imagination and is sometimes lost in the shadows of unadorned prose. Another minor weakness is the author's intrusion into the text by way of constant reference to America's heritage in the plural possessive: "our" treaties, "our" political leaders, "our" future. Despite these weaknesses, however, this is a thorough and perfectly adequate biography of a Founding Father who is often left standing unnoticed and underappreciated. A reader interested in learning about Edmund Randolph won't find a better biography than Reardon's.