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74 reviews for:
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness
Harlow Giles Unger
3.52 AVERAGE
74 reviews for:
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness
Harlow Giles Unger
3.52 AVERAGE
A solid read, even if I feel asleep on it a few times (to be fair I read right before bed), and even if the author bordered on fanboyism at times.
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
FIRST LINE REVIEW: "'You infernal scoundrel,' Crawford shook his cane menacingly at the president." An appropriate first line for this highly readable and engaging biography of our 5th president. Full of excitement as it recounts a career that certainly must rank as one of the most diverse, frustrating, dangerous and positive careers of any American president, Unger's bio does a good job of helping the reader see the man who was Monroe; although I must also accuse him of too much hero-worshipping. Unger tends toward absolutism at times: Monroe's wife, Elizabeth, was "the most beautiful" of First Ladies, for example. Really? How does one prove that?? Anyway, a good choice for my march through presidential biographies!
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
DNF 17% since we aren’t continuing homeschool and my interest isn’t high enough to read on my own (as a fiction lover). That said this was an enjoyable audiobook & a biography I would recommend to anyone interested in a biography about this president!
Easy and enjoyable to read for a dry subject. I do feel like I learned quite a bit. But the author is so.. Pro Monroe that I felt myself thinking there had to be another view of many situations, yet they were never mentioned.
Biased but easy to read.
Biased but easy to read.
This book is about James Monroe, the 5th President of America, and probably the one Democratic Republican leader/President I actually liked, after I'd read about them (I rather suspect I'd have been a federalist, had I been live at the time).
The book itself isn't half bad. It rattles along at a decent lick, doesn't feel like the writer's asking you to be impressed by the weight of research he'd done, and covers the complete spectrum of Monroe's life pretty well (there wasn't a huge amount going on in the world during his presidency, so there wasn't much to talk about there, which allowed Monroe's pre-presidential life to shine).
So all in all, a decent read, if you want to learn a little about James Monroe.
Having just said it was a decent read, you're probably wondering why I only gave it 3 stars. My grumble is that while the book isn't completely hagiographic (though it's close), Unger clearly prefers Monroe to either Madison and Adams. His description of Madison makes you wonder how he ever got elected (I know he was embarrassed by the War of 1812, but that came after he was elected, twice), and Unger's biography of Adams, makes it's clear he didn't have much time for him as President either.
Personally I think if you're going to read about a President, you should try and read a couple of books about them... and try and assume that the truth lies somewhere in the middle of various author's claims.
To support this thesis, if you look at the rankings of Presidents by historians, Adams, Madison and Monroe score similar marks. If this were the only book you'd read, you might think Monroe was much more highly ranked.
The book itself isn't half bad. It rattles along at a decent lick, doesn't feel like the writer's asking you to be impressed by the weight of research he'd done, and covers the complete spectrum of Monroe's life pretty well (there wasn't a huge amount going on in the world during his presidency, so there wasn't much to talk about there, which allowed Monroe's pre-presidential life to shine).
So all in all, a decent read, if you want to learn a little about James Monroe.
Having just said it was a decent read, you're probably wondering why I only gave it 3 stars. My grumble is that while the book isn't completely hagiographic (though it's close), Unger clearly prefers Monroe to either Madison and Adams. His description of Madison makes you wonder how he ever got elected (I know he was embarrassed by the War of 1812, but that came after he was elected, twice), and Unger's biography of Adams, makes it's clear he didn't have much time for him as President either.
Personally I think if you're going to read about a President, you should try and read a couple of books about them... and try and assume that the truth lies somewhere in the middle of various author's claims.
To support this thesis, if you look at the rankings of Presidents by historians, Adams, Madison and Monroe score similar marks. If this were the only book you'd read, you might think Monroe was much more highly ranked.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced