Book Description
A vivid portrait of a man whose pre- and post-presidential careers overshadowed his presidency.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.
Customer Reviews:
Some favoritism for Jackson.......2007-09-01
The author is best known as the biographer of Jackson, so understandably he shows some favoritism for Jackson.
He covers the essentials of JQA's life but very briefly as intended. The book serves its purpose as a concise biography of a president whose life was intimately connected with the history of the first six decades of the United States.
Brief And Illuminating.......2007-04-13
First off, I am a real fan of this American Presidents Series of books. Each runs about 150 pages in length and can be easily finished in a few days by even the most time-constrained reader. This series is a godsend for those of us who buy 600-page biographical tomes with the best of intentions, then abandon them 100 pages in (albeit with extensive knowledge of the subject's family tree and childhood.) Robert Remini's biography "John Quincy Adams" strikes a great balance between illumination and brevity.
I became interested in John Quincy Adams after reading the chapter JFK devoted to him in "Profiles in Courage" and being struck by such an accomplished man continuing to harbor so many self-doubts. Remini's biography offers ample explanation for this. Driven hard by his family to excel (his father becoming, of course, the second President of the United States), the bar for perceived success was very high. As well, depression seemed to be a family trait, with many members touched by alcoholism or suicide, including two of JQA's own sons.
Remini does an excellent job describing the grueling regimen of study the young JQA followed and the high expectations the family placed on him. By his early teens, JQA was proficient in several languages and, amazingly, his fluency in French at age 14 was such that he was asked to serve as a translator for US diplomats in the Russian courts.
It can be shocking to read comments made by our leaders of the time, particularly statements regarding American Indians. The reader is reminded just how different was that era and how much things have changed in the intervening 200 years. One thing which has not changed is dirty political campaigning. In fact, the fallout from JQA's election in 1824 and the campaign of 1828 seem to mark a transition from the civil presidential elections of the nation's early years to the adversarial style still with us today.
As a politician, Adams was horrible. He had zero interest in playing the game, even to the point of refusing to campaign. "War meetings or committee meetings of both parties [occurred] every day of the week. It is so in every part of the Union. A stranger would think that the people of the United States have no other occupation than electioneering." That sounds like he spent an evening watching modern day cable news networks.
Heavy-duty readers of American history may find this book (and the others in the series) too concise, but then they are not the primary target audience. As for me, I learned a great deal about John Quincy Adams and his era without a burdensome commitment of time -- precisely what I sought.
Great read.......2007-01-10
There are many historic books on presidents. The American President Series is a great text for those who are interested in reading a brief summary of the presidents' lives. Many texts are too in depth for casual reading, but this series is excellent for those of us who are not die-hard historians or history experts. The author of this text has written a brilliant book on John Q. His writing style is wonderful and made it hard for me to put the book down. I was so impressed by his writing style that I have been searching for more books by him. This text and author is great and a must read.
Disappointing book written by a sermonizing bore.......2006-08-13
This book was so poorly written that I cancelled my order for "The Life of Andrew Jackson" by the same author and ordered the Jackson biography by H.W. Brands instead (happily, the Brands book proved to be excellent).
While Remini's writing is pedestrian and his explanation of some historical events surprisingly shallow, it is the author's bigoted sermonizing that rankles most. The deficient history includes glossing over British grievances that led to impressment and forgetting to explain that Madison's invasion of Canada sparked the War of 1812. An excellent overview of these and other issues mischaracterized by the author is provided by Garry Wills in his biography of the lackluster James Madison in the fourth book in the American Presidents series or by H.W. Brands in his biography on Andrew Jackson.
Yet it is the author's lectures and rants against the formidable Abigail Adams that is most embarrassing to read. If I were to write this book review just as the author wrote his passages on Abigail, it would read like this: "Likely, Professor Remini's hostility towards his own mother produced severe misogyny, which led him to denounce Abigail Adams as a proxy for his hated mother."
Obviously, the above passage is beyond the bounds of scholarship so I wonder why Remini engaged in it. In addition to bloated sermons, Remini wielded tools of subtle bigotry against Abigail. For example, most scholars of this era recognize that it was set in a period before standardized English, which is why Washington and Jefferson spell the same words differently in different letters. For example, on p. 561 of his Jackson biography, H. W. Brands writes: "In...quotations, spelling and punctuation have been corrected...to do justice to the authors of the quotations, who lived before spelling became standardized." While Remini adheres to the principle of standardizing the spelling of letters, in the first half of his book, he makes an exception for those written by Abigail. Is it misogyny that impels him to quote her letters without standardization and then type "[sic]" after words that are "misspelled" according to later dictionaries?
When Abigail died in 1818, the author writes on p. 54: "JQA did not return home to comfort his mother during her illness nor did he attend her funeral....it was another mark of resentment toward his mother's 'dominating ways.'" This stark fact is meant to contrast with his father's death in 1826: "When John Quincy received word of his father's failing health and the fact that he might succumb at any moment he sped away to get home in time." Unfortunately, both accounts egregiously misrepresent the facts.
By contrast, here is David McCullough's take on Abigail's death on p. 623 of "John Adams": A "letter warning John Quincy to be prepared for the worst had not reached Washington until the day before his mother's death, and it was not until the day after her funeral that he learned she was gone. [JQA wrote:] 'the tenderest and most affectionate of mothers....My mother...was a minister of blessing to all human beings within her sphere of action....She had no feelings but of kindness and beneficence.... She...has been to me more than a mother. She has been a spirit from above watching over me for good....'"
Meanwhile, Remini's misrepresentation of his father's death clashes with the facts (i.e. Remini writes that upon being notified "[JQA] sped away to get home in time"). Here is McCullough on p. 647: "Not until Sunday, July 9, after receiving several urgent messages from home, did John Quincy start north by coach, accompanied by young John, and it was later that day, near Baltimore, that he learned of his father's death." Why didn't Remini write that JQA missed his father's funeral just as he had his mother's if not to intentionally deceive the reader in order to forward the author's thesis of hatred against the mother? Meanwhile, Remini does not explain that a trip home may cost two weeks time over poorly constructed roads and instead implies to the reader that JQA should have just hopped on Air Force One and sped home in a matter of minutes.
Once the mother expires, Remini gets down to the task of actually writing a biography. While the second half of the book is worth reading, too much trust has been squandered. Occasional authorial intrusions remind the reader that this author cannot be trusted so the entire book becomes suspect.
I could provide many more examples but this book is not worth the time. An accomplished historian would drench the reader in the era under examination, present a multiplicity of facts and viewpoints, and allow the reader to make his own judgment. An author of a short biography would provide facts, succinctly explain issues, and leave the reader with a greater understanding of the era and perhaps a yearning to learn more. By contrast Remini obfuscates details and offers unlikely psychological speculations while boring the reader like a preacher imprisoning his flock for an all-day sermon.
Remini is renowned for his multi-volume Pulitzer Prize-winning biography on Andrew Jackson. Assuming that his book deserves the acclaim, a subject I will never have an opinion on for I will not read another book by this author, a possible explanation for his shoddy scholarship in JQA is that Remini did not respect the readers of this series. He rushed off a poorly-researched manuscript because he believed that the readers of these abridged books on the presidents are not serious scholars; rather he dismisses them as ignoramuses who may be manipulated and confused for sport in return for a quick paycheck. Obviously, this is speculation but since that is all the author offered when writing JQA's biography, it is all the review is worth giving.
If you are interested in a book on John Quincy Adams, I recommend David McCullough's tome on John Adams, which delves into the father, mother, and the son. It explains the era, the issues, and the personalities and it is further recommended because it is not written by an author who appears, on the basis of this book, to be a bigot.
Not the best president, but important........2005-06-11
John Quincy Adams was one of the smartest and most educated men to serve as president. With all that intelligence, he really stunk up the White House. Remini points out how absolutely blind and deaf JQA was to politics. He would not campaign in even minor ways or do anything to help his chances for political success. Perhaps we could use more of that in today's world, but at the same time, politics is politics. If one truly believes in the importance of long term planning and success, he or she must be willing to make some short term sacrifices. With all that said, JQA's secretary of state years under President Monroe were incredibly successful. JQA practically created the Monroe Doctrine and made the case that sometimes preemptive action is necessary. Samuel Flagg Bemis is apparently the expert historian on JQA's State Department years, and Remini relies on his work for that chapter. John Lewis Gaddis also made use of John Quincy Adams's leadership of the State Department in a comparative look at grand strategies, along with FDR and GWB.
The book is interesting, short, and well-written. Little more can be asked for.
Book Description
Historians have not been generous in judging the presidency of John Quincy Adams. Those who have most conspicuously upheld Adams's fame have, at the same time, virtually ignored his service in the White House. Critics, on the other hand, have described his administration as a failure, founded upon "bargain and corruption" and marked by exclusion of the United States from the British West Indian trade, the ineffectiveness of its efforts to promote strong Pan-American relationships, and the enactment of the "tariff of abominations." Some analysts have even argued that it generated the sectionalism which terminated the "Era of Good Feelings."
Mary Hargreaves contends, instead, that the basic effort of Adams's presidency was to harmonize divergent sectional interests. To ignore the Adams administration's commitment to nationalism, she argues, is to overlook a fundamental stage in the establishment of the federal government as guardian of the general interest.
The volume contains new information on the development of United States commercial policy, the nation's early relationships with Latin America, and difficulties of local and regional adjustment to the growth of the national economy. It will be of keen interest to all students of the economic and political history of the early national period.
This book is part of the American Presidency Series.
Customer Reviews:
Too much detail clouds the main issues.......2002-05-12
There have been two instances of a father and son both achieving the presidency of the United States and there is a common characteristic. In each case one of the two had a distinguished history of public service that would indicate excellent preparation for the rigors of being president. However, both of those men served only one term, voted down amid lackluster support even among those who were their natural political allies.
George Bush senior was a combat aviator in world war two, served in congress, was head of the CIA and was vice president for eight years. And yet, his presidency is generally considered to have been more of a caretaker administration than anything else. He came dangerously close to coming in third in the election where he was defeated by Bill Clinton. John Quincy Adams served his nation well as an ambassador to Europe during some of the most troubling early years of the nation. A distinguished public figure in many other ways, it certainly appeared that he was well prepared for the presidency. However, his administration was also rather lackluster and it too has the appearance of a caretaker government.
Despite the relative lack of major events during the four years of the John Quincy Adams administration, Hargreaves manages to fill 323 pages. This attention to excruciating detail makes the book difficult to read and it is by far the least interesting of the eight books in the American presidency series that I have read. To put this into perspective, the eight years of the Andrew Jackson presidency are summarized in 277 pages and the four years of the Van Buren administration in 211. Detailed explanations of minor legislative debates and the personal relationships between the principles are presented to the point that they just become tedious.
All of this in unfortunate, because John Quincy Adams was a very interesting man who tried to uphold the principles of democracy as he saw them. The problem of course was that the nation was changing. He was the last president with roots to the old statesman/gentleman mold of men that created the nation and the constitution. Adams was constantly fighting the populist movement of Andrew Jackson, with the appeal to the masses that was so different from the presidential politics that had come before. This point is mentioned in the book, but unfortunately all the detail tends to bury it.
The presidency of John Quincy Adams marks a turning point in the history of the United States. After him, presidents were elected by political campaigns with mass appeal rather than the collective will of a relatively small number of people. Furthermore, they were no longer chosen from a group of aristocratic gentleman, as rough hewn self-made men were now viable candidates. This point is made in the book, but not as well as it should and certainly not as precisely as it could have been.
Customer Reviews:
John Quincy Adams A Personal History.......2006-08-01
While her book is the best I have found on this former President, I find she is the best on the politcal side and presents him in a much better light than Nagal does in his book. When I compare the two books Nagal tries and fails to present Adams as a malajusted man who blames all his problems on his mother. To get a true idea about him you must read both books.
John Quincy Adams, A Person History of an Independent Man.......2000-04-18
After seeing the movie Amistad I was curious about this president who was pretty much passed over in our history books. This Hecht book satisfied all my curiosities plus some I didn't think of. She covers the public and personal lives of JQA. All the public figures of the time, great and near great, American and European, walk through these pages. And, yes, the Amistad story is there. I have limited vision so I save wear and tear on my eyes each day in order to be able to read this great book in bed before I go to sleep. Minor criticism: I have to keep paging back to determine the year of given happenings. The author could have repeated dates a little more generously. Otherwise it would be a five-star!
John Quincy Adams, A Person History of an Independent Man.......2000-04-18
After seeing the movie Amistad I was curious about this president who was pretty much passed over in our history books. This Hecht book satisfied all my curiosities plus some I didn't think of. She covers the public and personal lives of JQA. All the public figures of the time, great and near great, American and European, walk through these pages. And, yes, the Amistad story is there. I have limited vision so I save wear and tear on my eyes each day in order to be able to read this great book in bed before I go to sleep. Minor criticism: I have to keep paging back to determine the year of given happenings. The author could have repeated dates a little more generously. Otherwise it would be a five-star!
Book Description
This unusual book, Letters on Freemasonry, first published in 1833, is finally back in print. Until now, it was virtually impossible for the general public to obtain a copy. It is highly recommended to historians and ordinary citizens alike. Men who are members of the Lodge, even if they disagree, will find in this volume insightful and astute observations on their society.
Average customer rating:
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John Quincy Adams: A Bibliography (Bibliographies of the Presidents of the United States)
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ASIN: 0313281645 |
Book Description
Neither his contemporaries nor subsequent historians have known quite what to do with John Quincy Adams. He was neither "conservative" nor "liberal," neither aristocrat nor democrat. Frequently at odds with New England's political and social leadership, he was influenced by both Puritan traditions of the 17th century and the scientific Enlightenment of the 18th. His life divided into three careers, with his presidency, his least successful career, sandwiched between those of diplomat and Secretary of State on one hand, and congressman on the other. This bibliography provides a guide to the literature on all three careers and provides the first comprehensive listing of Adams's published writings. Following the introduction and a chronology of Adams's life, the volume opens with chapters devoted to manuscript and archival resources, the writings of John Quincy Adams, and general biographical publications. Chapters 4 and 5 list sources on Adams's early career and mature years, and chapter 6 turns to the elections of 1824 and 1828. The presidency is covered in chapter 7, administration associates in chapter 8, and the post-presidential years in chapter 9. Chapter 10 examines his childhood and personal life. Two concluding chapters are devoted to historiography and iconography. The volume also includes a list of relevant periodicals and author and subject indexes.
Book Description
A blow-by-blow re-creation of the battle royal that raged in Congress in the 1830s, when a small band of representatives, led by President John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, employed intricate stratagems to outwit the Southern (and Southern-sympathizing) sponsors of the successive "gag" rules that had long blocked debate on the subject of slavery.
Customer Reviews:
a revelation.......2000-09-04
Arguing About Slavery has a very difficult subject to make live, what William Lee Miller calls the "tedium and sublimity" of republican debate. The historian's duty to be evenhanded even when faced with the moral pit of slavery doesn't make the job any easier. Yet, Miller handles these problems with aplomb and, more, handily succeeds.
At about 500 pages, Arguing About Slavery is concerned with the parliamentary debate and tactics used by pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the Congress in the 1830's and 40's. It shows how, nearly single handedly, John Quincy Adams insistence on the right to petition exposed the South's determination to controvert the Constitution in its quest to shelter the practice of slavery from congressional criticism. By the time the Congress puts the "gag rule" to rest, Adam's exposé had made abolitionism a powerful and accepted political force in the North.
Miller storytelling skills has the reader discovering the extent of sophistry the pro-slavery forces were willing to go to as they were forced to resort to deeper and deeper hypocrisy. He does this, however, without denigrating the men of the South. Indeed, much of the enjoyment you'll derive from reading Arguing About Slavery will come from the rhetorical skills the Southern Congressmen liberally display throughout.
Although Miller's protagonist is clearly J.Q. Adams, he spends considerable effort on a broad cast of characters, from the original abolitionists and their puritan backgrounds -- the Grimké sisters, Theodore Weld, Elizur Wright, Elijah Lovejoy -- to Adam's allies in the House -- Joshua Giddings, William Slade -- to the pro-slavery giants -- John C. Calhoun, Caleb Cushing, Francis Pinkens -- and moderates like Henry Pinkney (whose gag rule ironically was intended as a compromise) and President Martin Van Buren. If these biographies are not familiar to you, these and others in Arguing About Slavery should be. Miller describes the history and premises of all parties involved, but doesn't interrupt the flow of the tale to do so.
Miller does an incredible job of making the tedium and sublimity of republican debate come alive and at the end of the book you better understand the place of liberty in America's national consciousness, the intellectual forces that led to the Civil War, and the nature of the founders' relationship to the practice of slavery itself. The only criticism I have is that sometimes Miller's rhetoric is a bit too partisan, which reduces the value of the book as ammunition against slavery's apologists, which do still exist. But that has nothing to do with merits of the book as a work of the historical art, which are excellent.
It surpassed all expectations.......1999-02-04
This is an excellent book, one that surpassed any expectation I might have had for it. And my expectations were high, because the critics spoke so highly of it when it was released. Still, I doubted whether a decade-long legislative battle could carry my interest for 300+ pages. I was wrong. Every page and character was interesting, and the consistent imagery of John Quincy Adams, in the sunset of his political career, battling the southern foes in Congress on a daily basis is an enduring one. Books like this one should be substituted for the dry history curriculum that I had in high school.
One of the best American History books I've read this yr.......1998-11-13
Miller has taken a little-known set of antebellum incidents and made them live. The book is both a scholarly work and highly readable for the layman. Miller provides a modicum of "modern parallels" and editorial asides that would, if they weren't so intelligent, be inappropriate. As it is, his observations along these lines as the book progresses makes the work more interesting rather than less. This book is more interesting that last year's biography of John Quincy Adams, which I also enjoyed.
An enaging work on an important period of American history........1997-12-17
William Lee Miller, the wonderfully readable historian and author of a number of political history books, here turns his attentian to the United States Congress. His protaganist is John Quincy Adams, (of recent AMISTED fame) fighting the Southern block of congressmen who want to keep petitions for the abolition of slavery off the floor of the House of Representatives. The question of wether Adams will eventually defeat the "Gag Rule" builds from begining to end.
Miller's real strength, however, is his ability to write. He turns what could have been a dry history of congressional politics into a battle for the very soul of the nation. When Adams finnaly wins the battle, in the end, while nearly dying on the floor of congress, you want to stand up and cheer.
This episode of American history has rarely been given more than a line or two from the average college textbook. But by reading this book, you become half convinced this was one of the most momentous occasions in the history of the American nation, and perhaps that is the finist compliment I can give William Lee Miller.
Amazon.com
Who is the real John Quincy Adams? The brilliant secretary of state, prime mover behind the Monroe Doctrine, and principled opponent of slavery, defender of the Africans shanghaied aboard the Amistad? Or the ineffectual president stymied by a hostile Congress and his own self-righteousness, the vindictive political foe famed for his cold, disagreeable character? Paul C. Nagel, author of two previous books about the Adams family, seeks to give readers a more human Adams (1767-1848) whose complex nature contained many contradictions. John Quincy Adams is a valuable revisionist biography of a misunderstood figure at the crossroads of American history.
Book Description
John Quincy Adams was raised, educated, and groomed to be President, following in the footsteps of his father, John. At fourteen he was secretary to the Minister to Russia and, later, was himself Minister to the Netherlands and Prussia. He was U.S. Senator, Secretary of State, and then President for one ill-fated term. His private life showed a parallel descent. He was a poet, writer, critic, and Professor of Oratory at Harvard. He married a talented and engaging Southerner, but two of his three sons were disappointments. This polymath and troubled man, caught up in both a democratic age not to his understanding and the furies of passion, was an American lion in winter.
Customer Reviews:
THE LIFE OF THE PARTY.......2007-10-15
It was obvious from tne start that John Quincy Adams was going to be a great man,like it or not. His father,John, second in his class at Harvard, immediately began bombarding the youth with Greek, Latin, English and history. His mother, Abigail Smith of Mayflower descent, simultaneously joined the festivities, instilling a religious morality that might have frightened Calvin himself.Trips abroad with Quincy's father were to be educative,with little time to be "wasted".Little wonder that J.Q. would also graduate second in his Harvard stint. The real surprise to this reviewer is that the future 6th president ever married since he seemingly knew nothing about intimacy, only work and duty.His beratings and impudence towards his wife are carefully preserved, perhaps sadly. Certainly no family wrote or retained more for future historians.That he was a competent diplomat, an historic Secretary of State under Monroe, and a highly respected Representative for Massachusetts until his death in 1848 (stricken on the floor of The House) is almost completely forgotten.It's simply that his presidency was a complete bust,due mostly to the infamous alleged "corrupt deal" with Henry Clay in the election of 1824. No president was better trained for the office, few presidents were treated more callously by Congress.(Which came first,the chicken or the egg)? Paul Nagel writes an anecdotal, not too heavy biography of a difficult man. The results are generally favorable to the reader, even if the subject himself tends not to be, Is there a psycho-historian in the house?
An inexcusably poor biography.......2007-08-19
After noting the ratings and browsing the titles of other reviewers, I realize I am in the minority in the low review I have given this book. I find it even more peculiar given my disposition to normally be quite favorable in my reviews. I will not flinch, however, in my belief that this biography is ill conceived, inadequately researched, and poorly written.
First, I will tackle why this book is ill conceived. Nagel makes the assertion that he will be able to add knew insight into the inner workings of John Quincy Adams, a task he points out that no previous biographer has been fully successful, by writing a biography utilizing JQA's diary. This certainly seems like an acceptable approach but in practice Nagel simply uses it as an excuse to write a biography without doing any real research. In fact, you will not find a single footnote in this entire volume, simply an explanation basically telling you that his primary research was JQA's diary with the gaps filled in by other biographers work. Even more inexplicable, beyond a couple of lines of poetry, Nagel never quotes directly from JQAs diary except for short sentences or phrases trapped within his mechanical prose. The dumbfounding outcome of this is a book that purports to tell JQAs story utilizing his diary, yet never gives the reader any sense of what JQAs diary was actually like.
The preceding criticism might be overlooked had Nagel actually written an enjoyable biography. Unfortunately, Nagel's writing is as lazy and thoughtless as his research. Nagel makes no effort to craft his work in a way that would be appropriate to his subject matter or complement his desire to use JQAs diary as the basis for the book. I would encourage anyone thinking of buying this book to read the excerpts available through the "Look Inside" feature. Nagel continues the exact same paragraph structure throughout the entire book. The book is strictly chronological, basically following a "then this happened, then this happened, and then this happened..." approach that is about as compelling as a high school level history assignment. Nagel treats events big and small with the same level of detail (not much) and never elaborates on events that seem to provide an opportunity for adding interest or bringing the reader to a better understanding of John Quincy Adams and his place in history. I would call this a "feather duster" biography - it glides along the surface without ever taking the time to go into any depth.
Those interested in learning about JQAs presidency will be the most disappointed. Nagel explains that he only devotes a chapter to JQAs presidency because JQA himself did not think his presidency was very important. This is an absurd defense and a smokescreen for the fact that he did not do the necessary research. In fact, the chapter devoted to JQAs presidency is mostly about events that happened to JQA during his presidency unrelated to his presidency.
In conclusion, I will call this book exactly what it is - an abridgement and paraphrased version of JQAs diary and a very poor one at that. I am still perplexed at how so many others found this book satisfactory, but I found it to be the worst biography that I have ever read.
Very readable and entertaining.......2007-01-17
On the one hand this is a well written and highly readable book. It does a much better job of focusing on the personal life of JQA than most biographies of people from this era. It gave a different perspective on Abigail Adams than I've seen other places and it also does not take his assertion of not seeking public office at face value, which so many other biographies do.
The stated purpose of the author is to explore JQA as a person, and he succeeds. But the glossing over of the events of the day is quite glaring in a few cases. For example, I think JQA's role in the genesis of the Monroe Doctrine gets only 2 pages. And he really didn't explore the "corrupt bargain" around the election of 1824. He explores some of the the facts around the election but, not it's impact on the American public and role in the rise of Jacksonian Democracy.
A Private Life - YES! ... A Public Life - Sort of?.......2006-11-05
This books primary source is John Quincy Adams (JQA) remarkable diary, which spans a period of over 60 years, for the 1780's to the 1840's. Thanks to this source, the author delivers on his promise to describe the private life of JQA. I think the author is less successful at giving the reader an understanding of JQA's public life. The book contains a very detailed account of the life style, personality, character, and intellectual pass times of Adams, but it fails to put his life in historical context, at least from a "BIG Picture" perspective. I believe this is what the author intended, so it is really up to the reader to decide if this is the type of biography they wish to read. As a meticulous study of the inner workings of a man who was at the center of American politics from it's founding to the period just before the civil war the book is well worth reading. But if you are like me, you will be left wanting to read more.
Perhaps this was one biography too many for the author.......2006-10-10
The biography of this fascinating man lets the reader down. Based entirely on secondary sources (primarily JQA's Diary), we miss the flavor of events he lived through, such as the War of 1812, the Jacksonian revolution, the Free Soil movement, the Nativist Movement, the Know Nothings, the Loco Focos, the Wilmot Proviso, the breakup of the Whigs, and his enemies' epithet for him, Prince Hal. But there's plenty of interest in the book without that. Adams was a proud man, a devout New Englander, bitter about personal attacks, full of self-doubt, wanting to leave a legacy of public service; in his teens he spent eight years overseas assisting his father as a diplomat in Paris, London, Prussia, and Katherine the Great's Russia. It's interesting that his son, Charles Francis Adams, took JQA's young grandson, Henry Adams, along with him to represent the Union government in London during the Civil War. The author fails to probe ex-President Adams's relationships with Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Van Buren, and the other political luminaries of his day. We do learn, however, of enormous time and energy poured into research about arcane topics, and poetry writing. People were hardy in those days. In his 70s, JQA could walk eight miles in three hours, swim, fish, and deliver orations lasting up to three hours. No channel surfing in those days! Three stars for a good try.
Book Description
In this concise biography, Parsons masterfully chronicles the dramatic and prolific career of one of America's most absorbing figures.
Customer Reviews:
John Quincy Adams.......2005-10-14
John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, the second President, was one of America's greatest diplomats. He made a name for himself as the country was being formed, especially with his defense of "the rules of law" against the will of the majority. He was one of the last of the old Federalists. He was a foreign minister to Holland, Portugal, and Prussia, and was Secretary of State under Monroe (where he was the main force in establishing the Monroe Doctrine). He became the sixth President in a controversial election that was decided in the House of Representatives.
Parson's short (272 pages) but thorough and well-written biography of Adams is a job well done. She details the accomplishments of his life, but focuses primarily on the man himself. Adams was a stern man (his portrait reminds me of some evil Dickens character, Marley perhaps), and not well-liked by the public. He believed that one should not "run" for a political office, but should just accept it if offered (imagine that today!). He hated Andrew Jackson and slavery, and fought hard against both. This is an excellent book on an interesting man.
You cheered his life after reading this book........1999-10-15
After reading this well written biography, I experienced the sorrows, joys, and accomplishments in the life of one of our country's greatest statesmen.
A highly recommended, easy reading bio of the 6th President.......1998-05-26
Lynn H. Parsons has written a biography that is blessedly free from 'academic speak' or the sense that he is only writing for other historians. This is definitely a biography for even the most casual lover of history. Parsons' familiarity with JQA allows him to introduce us to that prickly character as one would introduce an eccentric friend--always aware of the eccentricities but never apologizing for them. Adams (and his father) are two of the greatest of America's early statesmen and two of it's worst politicians. Parsons presents the genius and the folly and allows us to weigh our opinions--tho' its clear where Parsons' affections lie. It is hard to imagine that anyone will (or could) write a better one volume popular biography of JQA. Parsons clearly could tell us much more, but he chooses not to bog his narrative down in the kind of historical detail that glazes the eye of the casual reader. For serious historians this is a valuable book because it doesn't get lost in its own importance--the writing is direct, succinct and keeps the reader aware of the difference of the attitudes of Adams and his contemporaries to our current sensibilities. Parsons ends with a note that JQA's only monument in Washington is a small plaque in statuary hall in the Capitol. I would argue that Adams' best monument in DC is the one he would be proudest of--the Smithsonian Institution he fought so hard to help establish. I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
Edited and Compiled by Doug Phillips
Born in 1767, John Quincy Adams entered his country's service while a mere lad as secretary to the Russian Embassy and remained through life a public servant, filling successively the posts of secretary, ambassador, United States Senator, Secretary of State, President, and finally Representative in Congress.
However, all of these remarkable achievements are secondary to his role as father. Though a busy man, Adams made it his priority to study the Bible and to train his son to love God's Holy Word. His example stands out for all men as a shepherd who loved his family flock. This volume contains nine personal letters of counsel and admonition that he penned to his son while traveling away from home.
Book Description
Based on the true story of the 1839 mutiny on board the Spanish slave ship, Amistad, here is the frightening sequence of events that led fifty-three young men and women - and one young nation - to seek freedom and justice for all people. Amistad is the story of Cinque, the illegally enslaved son of a Mende chief who led an uprising full of fury and courage. It is also the story of John Quincy Adams, the former American president, who reluctantly heeded the call to justice and defended Cinque in a Supreme Court trial that would alter the nation's history. And it is the story of men and women searching to find truth and to uphold the basic tenets of the American Constitution. Brilliantly narrated by award-winning novelist Alexs Pate, Amistad celebrates the human spirit's profound determination to fight, hope, and to be free. Visit the Amistad book site! A junior novelization is also available for young adults.
Customer Reviews:
A LESSON ON HUMAN NATURE.......2004-03-11
I've recently been reading the book Amistad . I think that it is a good book. I think that people should try reading it some time. It would be a good experience for them, and I think that if people try reading this book it would teach them a lesson on human nature
If we all treated each other like they did on the book, we would be doomed and like I learned in one of my classes an eye for eye would make the whole world blind
While I hope you all try reading it some time in your life.
Amistad.......2004-03-11
I recently have read the book Amistad. It is a very good book, because it's about slavery times. How the slaves felt, and how is from there point of view. I was very impressed with this book, about a young mans life. In how he lived before slavery, and then during his time in slavery. He finds a nail out of the boat. He pry's it lose and free all the slaves, by braking the chains. They take over ship from the Spaniards. Trying to get back to Africa. But get stopped by navy. I like this book because they join together to brake out of there chains.
Awesome.......2003-07-27
There have been lot of books written on the abolishment of Slavery in United States. But this book is unique in that it is not a mere putting down of facts which piled on for years. Through the characters the author has nicely portrayed the different attitudes and perception that people had about slavery and its abolishment. A Very nice book wherein you feel the characters and get involved in more than one way.
Everyman's Book.......2002-11-13
It's shocking to discover how much of real American history gets glossed over in schools. What's the point of teaching history at all if it's edited? At that point it might as well be folk tales, interesting stories lacking any real facts. Alexs Pate's version of the events surrounding the slave ship La Amistad are easy to follow thanks to his simple, direct writing style and unique ability to describe much in a few words. While a "fictionalized" account of true events, the story is nonetheless riveting and heartwrenching, astounding and sickening to behold. I am saddened and even a little angry I have so little knowledge of how the vast majority of Africans found their way to America and the truth of how my ancestors may have considered and treated them. The author does a fine job of remaining mostly neutral on the topic himself, letting the story unfold and almost tell itself. While some Africans had it a little better than others, during pre-Civil War days and even in some cases still today, no black man was ever truly free. Amistad is a brilliant book about suffering and the strength it may bring, about how hope may prevail under the direst of circumstances, about how mistakes can save lives and doing "the right thing" might end them. A quick, powerful read anyone of any color or belief may enjoy. An excellent book for anyone readying to delve into the truth of the past instead of blandly accepting some outdated school textbook of it. Masterpiece.
Amistad is Great.......2000-10-09
This was a great book. i had to read it for a book report. To tell you the truth I hate reading. This is the first time I read the whole book for a book report, it had me hooked. Now I get to see the movie. But, I understood the wording in the book, and It's just a good book the read. And I recommend it for all age groups.
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