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Title: James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon, Katherine E. Speirs ISBN: 0-945707-21-5 Publisher: American Political Biography Press Pub. Date: February, 1998 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $67.75 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (10 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Standard historical biography
Comment: This book was tedious to read and didn't contain as much information as books like Ketcham's James Madison or McCullough's Truman.
Ammon did a good job of listing the activities in which James Monroe partook but I feel he gave me little in the way of any new understanding of them. The exceptions would be Ammon's description of James Monroe's diplomatic service to France during George Washington's administration. Ammon's description provided new insight to about this time period that I had not previously understood. I also liked his portrayals of the friendships he had with his contemporaries in particular Madison, John Quincy Adams and Lafeyette.
Other than that, I felt the book a little dull.
Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent look at an overlooked figure in U.S. history
Comment: I was pleasantly surprised by Prof. Ammon's book. He has chronicled the life of one of the nation's more interesting, and yet overlooked, presidents - a Revolutionary War hero, diplomat and consensus builder. At least that's the Monroe that Ammon portrays.
But it is not a fawning biography - although I suspect Ammon is sympathetic to Monroe.
The best perspective I gained from it was the concept of how rough-and-tumble early U.S. politics were. The first quarter-century of the republic was not unlike the same time span in the developing nations of Africa between the early 1960s and mid-1980s, with its fears of coups and invasions and of the return to a monarchy.
I recommend this book to everyone studying the presidency.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good book, could've been better
Comment: This is without a doubt THE definitive biography of James Monroe, but, unfortunately, it was not written with the same aplomb as McCullough's John Adams or Joseph Ellis' book on Thomas Jefferson (American Sphinx). I agree with some of the other reviewers who said the book is long on detail, but short on analysis. Still, I am glad I read it and feel that I learned a lot about Monroe. I just wouldn't classify it as a great biography. Just the best one available about James Monroe.
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Title: John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life by Paul C. Nagel ISBN: 0674479408 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Louis Ketcham ISBN: 0813912652 Publisher: University of Virginia Press Pub. Date: May, 1990 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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Title: The Life of Andrew Jackson by Robert V. Remini ISBN: 0060937351 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: James Madison: (The American Presidents Series) by Garry Wills, Arthur M. Schlesinger ISBN: 0805069054 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis ISBN: 0679764410 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 07 April, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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