Madison was not a soldier, even though he played important roles in two wars, which means that most of The Great Little Madison takes place in meeting rooms. Probably the most important meeting place was in Philadelphia. There, delegates from the states had sent representatives to work out changes in the Articles of Confederation in order to make the United States more secure from internal conflict. Madison had been arguing for a new constitution for the government that would give the federal government the power to tax and to regulate commerce. He helped lead the faction that would turn the meeting into the Constitutional Convention. Madison took detailed notes during the convention, and these notes form the better part of what is known about what happened at the convention. In a hot room, with window shades drawn so that no one could look inside, Madison and other delegates...