John Quincy Adams - Harlow Giles Unger
John Quincy Adams - Harlow Giles Unger
Non-Fiction
Pages: 384
It is hard to think of another statesman who could rival John Quincy Adams in American history, for the breadth and length of his political career if nothing else. The fact that his term as President was perhaps the least significant and eventful period in his life tells you something about the remarkable times he lived in and the part he played in them. From his beginnings serving under Washington to his end alongside Lincoln, there is surely no man other than the Founding Fathers who best epitomises America in its early years.
John Quincy Adams saw it all - living through the Revolution as a child, watching the battle at Bunker Hill with his mother; serving as his father's secretary during Adams Senior's time as American ambassador in Paris; beginning his career in the diplomatic service under Charles Dana in St Petersburg; his own career as ambassador in Holland, Germany, Russia and Britain; chief negotiator in ending the War of 1812; his time in the Senate and later most notably as a congressman, speaking out courageously for free speech and against slavery; and oh yes, President of the United States as well. Any one of those would have been to his lasting credit but to combine all in the body of one man is quite extraordinary - it is almost beyond comprehension why his life and career seems to have been so neglected by history and posterity.
With such a subject it would be hard to write a biography that was anything less than utterly engrossing, and my one criticism of this one is that I wished it was longer. A mere 400 pages hardly does this man justice, and some sections feel rushed, almost incomplete. I think this book would more than adequately serve as an introduction to John Quincy Adam's life and career, but being so condensed I can hardly consider it a definitive account.
Non-Fiction
Pages: 384
It is hard to think of another statesman who could rival John Quincy Adams in American history, for the breadth and length of his political career if nothing else. The fact that his term as President was perhaps the least significant and eventful period in his life tells you something about the remarkable times he lived in and the part he played in them. From his beginnings serving under Washington to his end alongside Lincoln, there is surely no man other than the Founding Fathers who best epitomises America in its early years.
John Quincy Adams saw it all - living through the Revolution as a child, watching the battle at Bunker Hill with his mother; serving as his father's secretary during Adams Senior's time as American ambassador in Paris; beginning his career in the diplomatic service under Charles Dana in St Petersburg; his own career as ambassador in Holland, Germany, Russia and Britain; chief negotiator in ending the War of 1812; his time in the Senate and later most notably as a congressman, speaking out courageously for free speech and against slavery; and oh yes, President of the United States as well. Any one of those would have been to his lasting credit but to combine all in the body of one man is quite extraordinary - it is almost beyond comprehension why his life and career seems to have been so neglected by history and posterity.
With such a subject it would be hard to write a biography that was anything less than utterly engrossing, and my one criticism of this one is that I wished it was longer. A mere 400 pages hardly does this man justice, and some sections feel rushed, almost incomplete. I think this book would more than adequately serve as an introduction to John Quincy Adam's life and career, but being so condensed I can hardly consider it a definitive account.