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The Last Founding Father - James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness (2009)
Front Cover Book Details
Genre Biography; Non-Fiction
Subject Presidents - United States - Biography
Publication Date 9/29/2009
Format Hardcover (9.1 x 6.1 mm)
Publisher Da Capo Press
Language English
Extras Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover
Description
In this lively and compelling biography Harlow Giles Unger reveals the dominant political figure of a generation. A fierce fighter in four critical Revolutionary War battles and a courageous survivor of Valley Forge and a near-fatal wound at the Battle of Trenton, James Monroe (1751–1831) went on to become America’s first full-time politician, dedicating his life to securing America’s national and international durability.

Decorated by George Washington for his exploits as a soldier, Monroe became a congressman, a senator, U.S. minister to France and Britain, governor of Virginia, secretary of state, secretary of war, and finally America’s fifth president. The country embraced Monroe’s dreams of empire and elected him to two terms, the second time unanimously. Mentored by each of America’s first four presidents, Monroe was unquestionably the best prepared president in our history.

Like David McCullough’s John Adams and Jon Meacham’s recent book on Andrew Jackson, this new biography of Monroe is both a solid read and stellar scholarship—history in the grand tradition.

Personal Details
Store amazon.com
Purchase Price $17.16
Acquire Date 9/22/2009
Condition As New
Rating 0
Product Details
LoC Classification E372.U54 2009
Dewey 973.5/4092
ISBN 9780306818080
Edition 1st Da Capo Press ed.
Cover Price $26.00
No. of Pages 400
First Edition No
Rare No
Notes/Review
Well told but "fluffy". This is a personal history rather than a telling of history. Only two pages on the Monroe Doctrine but page after page describing the state dinners, the furniture, what Elizabeth and Eliza wore. Monroe lived a fascinating life and Unger tells the tale well. But not as good a history book as McCullough's Adams book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and want to say good things about it. But at the same time I am disappointed that it told me so little about Monroe's policies. It does a nice job of telling the story of his life, his actions, his family. I learned a lot about the social life in Washington City. I learned how close a relationship he had with Marshall. But the Monroe Doctrine was explained in two pages, half of which was a rebuttal against the position that John Quincy Adams was the brains behind it.