|
John Quincy Adams: The American Presidents Series: The 6th President, 1825-1829
|
| List Price: | CDN$ 28.00 |
| Price: | CDN$ 20.19 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $39. Details |
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca
18 new or used available from CDN$ 11.44
Average customer review:
(12 )
Product Description
Chosen by the House of Representatives after an inconclusive election against Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams often failed to mesh with the ethos of his era, pushing unsuccessfully for a strong, consolidated national government. Historian Robert V. Remini recounts how in the years before his presidency Adams was a shrewd, influential diplomat, and later, as a dynamic secretary of state under President James Monroe, he solidified many basic aspects of American foreign policy, including the Monroe Doctrine. Undoubtedly his greatest triumph was the negotiation of the Transcontinental Treaty, through which Spain acknowledged Florida to be part of the United States. After his term in office, he earned the nickname "Old Man Eloquent" for his passionate antislavery speeches.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #594336 in Books
- Published on: 2002-08-20
- Original language: English
- Dimensions: .63 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 192 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
John and Abigail Adams's son was arguably the most brilliant man ever to occupy the White House. He was also probably the least temperamentally fit to do so. Nevertheless, as this straightforward biography reminds us, John Quincy Adams (1767- 1848) led one of the longest, most illustrious and most consequential public careers in the nation's history. Remini, the great modern biographer of Andrew Jackson, might seem the wrong choice to write a life of one of Jackson's most implacable enemies. But in this addition to a series on the presidents edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Remini, a National Book Award winner, paints an admiring portrait of an extraordinary man. Depicting Adams as deficient husband and father and disputably holding his famous parents largely responsible for the torments in all their children's lives, Remini concentrates on Adams's 50-year public career, much of it spent abroad. Remini is surely justified in holding Adams out as the nation's greatest secretary of state, largely responsible for what we know as the Monroe Doctrine. Although Adams as president was out of touch with most of his fellow citizens, it's likely that no one could have succeeded in the White House given the political confusion of those years. Adams's post-White House years (he was one of only two ex-presidents to return to Congress) yielded some of his life's greatest triumphs. He laid the basis for the Free Soil movement that eventually helped defeat slavery, protected the bequest that gave us the Smithsonian Institution and, as many readers will know from the film, defended the Amistad slaves. No one who reads this fine, short study will fail to place Adams in the pantheon of Great Neglected Americans which is just what Remini hopes to achieve and does.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Remini, the author of many books on Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and the politics of the 1820s and 1830s, here offers a brief biography of the sixth president of the United States as part of the American Presidents series edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. John Quincy Adams's four-year presidency was the least satisfying period in a long public career. He served as diplomat and Secretary of State prior to his election and became the only former president to sit in the House of Representatives, where he remained for 17 years during the increasingly stormy sectional debate. Remini focuses on important incidents throughout Adams's life, demonstrating that he was not the failure he would have been if judged only by his presidential years. Adams has been the subject of two recent longer biographies: Paul Nagel's John Quincy Adams: A Public Life and Lynn Hudson Parsons's capable but generally overlooked John Quincy Adams. Though the book is brief, in keeping with the series, Remini still manages to stay true to his scholarly credentials while targeting a general audience. Some endnotes are included that do not interrupt the flow of each chapter. Recommended for major public or academic libraries. Charles K. Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with GROVER CLEVELAND.]--The American Presidents series of brief biographies of all 42 presidents is a perfect audiobook size and length. Each individual biography offers a wealth of information about the period in which it's set and about the American presidency in general, and nowhere is that value better evident than in the biographies of minor or second-tier presidents like Adams and Cleveland. Adams ushered in the age of westward expansion but was politically ineffectual, serving only one term. Cleveland stood for honesty in government just as industrial capitalism was reaching its zenith. This excellent series of biographies, each written by an eminent historian, is a rich and rewarding listening experience. Ira Claffey's brisk, unapologetic tone strikes the proper measure for the politics, initiatives, and setbacks of a failed administration--keeping plain their significance to the times and to the evolution of American government. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
