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He fought for Washington, served with Lincoln, witnessed Bunker Hill, and sounded the clarion against slavery on the eve of the Civil War. He negotiated an end to the War of 1812, engineered the annexation of Florida, and won the Supreme Court decision that freed the African captives of La Amistad. He served his nation as minister to six countries, secretary of state, senator, congressman, and president. John Quincy Adams was all of these things and more. In this masterful biography, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals Adams as a towering figure in the nation's formative years and one of the most courageous figures in American history—which is why he ranked first in John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize–winning Profiles in Courage. For this magisterial biography, Unger makes use of a little-known national treasure: John Quincy Adams' diary, started at age ten, giving us an eye-witness account of sixty-five years of critical American history.
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Summary
Summary
He fought for Washington, served with Lincoln, witnessed Bunker Hill, and sounded the clarion against slavery on the eve of the Civil War. He negotiated an end to the War of 1812, engineered the annexation of Florida, and won the Supreme Court decision that freed the African captives of La Amistad. He served his nation as minister to six countries, secretary of state, senator, congressman, and president.
John Quincy Adams was all of these things and more. In this masterful biography, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals Adams as a towering figure in the nation's formative years and one of the most courageous figures in American history—which is why he ranked first in John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize–winning Profiles in Courage.
For this magisterial biography, Unger makes use of a little-known national treasure: John Quincy Adams' diary, started at age ten, giving us an eye-witness account of sixty-five years of critical American history.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Reviews
Reviews
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History Becomes Fascinating
- I decided to listen to this book for three reasons. One is that history can be incredibly interesting when presented by an excellent writer. Another was that I had enjoyed the 2008 television miniseries about John Adams, starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. The clincher was that the audiobook description said: “ Unger makes use of a little-known national treasure: John Quincy Adams’ diary, started at age ten, giving us an eye-witness account of sixty-five years of critical American history.” Diaries can be fascinating. I had to find out what this one was like, written by a ten-year-old, son of a founding father and future president, who witnessed the beginnings of our country and all of its changes over sixty-five years from his own very personal viewpoint. The audiobook had me hooked. Johnny Heller is a wonderful narrator, making me feel I was listening to John Quincy Adams himself. Harlow Giles Unger writes history as if it’s a gripping novel. The diary’s comments about George Washington, life in the courts of Europe, problems with his wife, and letters of encouragement from his mother and father were all interesting. One eye-opener was discovering how hard John Quincy Adams worked for abolitionists against a congress that for years stayed rigidly opposed to anything that might take free labor away from wealthy southern landholders, shouting him down whenever he tried to read letters from northerners against slavery. How Adams persisted is a high point of the book. I highly recommend this audiobook.
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A Perfect Balance
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I usually don't listen to histories. I like reading them. Dates and names need to be checked again, pages already read need to be flipped through and reexamined and let's face it: writing of a more scholarly bent goes down better on paper than on MP3.
But I bought J Q Adams on sale, on a whim and I'm glad I did. Unger's style is perfect for audio: not so detailed and scholarly as to defy easy listening, nor so simple and straightforward as to defy the sand man. Unger keeps his narrative moving at a good pace, never lingering over the details too long, (something of a feat in a book that covers things like the Yazoo Land Fraud) yet always finding quotes that bring his cast of characters to life in your earbuds. And Johnny Heller, who I last heard reading a classic Noir thriller, does it all more than justice.
True, I probably would never have read this book. But while I'm mowing the lawn or cleaning the kitchen or riding the train to work, I love listening to it. You probably will, too.
Author
Author Bio: Harlow Giles Unger
Harlow Giles Unger, a former distinguished visiting fellow in American history at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, is a veteran journalist, broadcaster, educator, and historian. He is the author of more than twenty books, including several biographies of the Founding Fathers. He has also authored histories of the early Republic as well as numerous books on American education. He lives in New York.
Details
Details
| Available Formats : | Digital Download, CD, MP3 CD |
| Category: | Nonfiction/Political Science |
| Runtime: | 9.71 |
| Audience: | Adult |
| Language: | English |
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