| Martin Van Buren - The Romantic Age of American Politics
(1983)
|
| Front Cover |
Book Details |
|
| Genre |
Biography; Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
Presidents - United States - Biography; United States - Politics and Government - 1837-1841 |
| Publication Date |
6/2/1983 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.4
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Oxford University Press, USA |
| Language |
English |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
| Personal Details |
| Store |
Alibris |
| Purchase Price |
$34.19 |
| Acquire Date |
4/21/2010 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Very Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
E387 .N58 1983 |
| Dewey |
973.570924 |
| ISBN |
9780195032383 |
| Cover Price |
$35.00 |
| No. of Pages |
728 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
$34.20 - $4.00 discount + $3.99 shipping
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I'd really rather give this book 2.5 stars, but I guess I'll have to round that up.
The first half of the book was quite frustrating. We don't really learn about Van Buren's policies, what he stood for. We instead learn who he convinced to side with him - the machinations rather than the arguments. As we moved through Van Buren's life, Niven gives us more meat. For me, this colors how I regard Van Buren. Because I understand what he stood for late in his life but not early, I end up thinking he was a better ex-President than President.
Another minor point of frustration is that Niven chose to tell us Van Buren's stances on various issues without bothering to give us much background. For example, Niven tells us Van Buren thought the Compromise of 1850 settled the slavery question but doesn't tell us anything about the Compromise. Fair enough - we can go look it up, and the book weighs in at over 600 pages already, but a bit distracting nonetheless.
I guess this is a good thing about reading the presidents in order. Each biographer has his own relationship with his subject; the John Quincy Adams book gives is a somewhat different view of the Amistad case than the Van Buren writer. In the end I probably get a fairly well-rounded view of the major issues. |
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