We believe readers interested in James Madison cannot go wrong if they begin with his own words:

For periods not yet covered in The Papers of James Madison, readers might refer to Gaillard Hunt's more abbreviated collection of outgoing correspondence, The Writings of James Madison (9 vols.; New York, 1900-1910). An older collection is the Letters and Other Writings of James Madison, Fourth President of the United States: Published by Order of Congress (4 vols.; Philadelphia, 1867).

More recently published one-volume collections of Madison's works include Jack N. Rakove's James Madison: Writings (New York, 1999) and Marvin Meyers's The Mind of the Founder: Sources of the Political Thought of James Madison (Hanover, N.H., 1981).

Those in search of Madison's most famous turns of phrase or a quick reference guide to his views will want to look at David B. Mattern's James Madison's "Advice to My Country" (Charlottesville, Va., 1997).