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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
I have always liked James Monroe and thought him an underrated President. But Unger has taken it to extremes. The guy sounds like a Super Friend with no weaknesses or character flaws. Unger starts off ridiculing Adams, Jefferson and Madison as weak, "caretaker Presidents". Monroe is portrayed as completely selfless and always making the right decision. Despite giving John Quincy Adams the lion's share of the credit for the Monroe Doctrine in his biography of THAT President, Unger changes pace here and argues that Monroe wrote and phrased the Monroe Doctrine himself. There are a lot of historical ha-ha's like describing Monroe "delivering a two hour speech" for his State of the Union, despite the fact that all Presidents between Jefferson and Wilson simply sent a letter which a member of Congress read aloud. Unger also buys fully into the lily-white version of history by waiting until Gabriel's Rebellion to talk about slavery at all and then only to approve of then-Virginia Governor Monroe's law and order response which included militia kicking in doors to slave cabins looking for rebels. One can only imagine what that was like. Monroe is described as working his plantations with very little reference to his scores of slaves, many of whom would be sold as punishments and to pay his debts. Indians get equally short shrift being only mentioned as "hostile marauders" as Americans swarm west to claim the land Monroe "got for them". It's a pity because Unger is a masterful writer, but he also falls too much under the spell of his subject and never considering other perspectives. There are other biographies that tell a better story.
Presidential Biography 16 0f 45 this completing the founding fathers (inc Ben Franklin) Excellent writing on the war of 1812
Unger is so admiring of his subject as to border on the laughable. The good news is that it’s a relatively short and quite readable book. The bad news is that in trying to rescue Monroe from the bowels of history, Unger goes too far the other way and paints an unrealistically rosy picture.
Though the author desperately tries, Monroe’s accomplishments just can’t be compared to those of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, etc. Our fifth president was a good soldier during the Revolution and led the nation for eight years during the so-called “Era of Good Feelings,” which included running unopposed for his 1820 re-election. But darker omens lurked beneath the surface (see: Missouri Compromise of 1820). Basically everything in Pre-Emancipation America was determined by who could get more slaves and keep the ones they already had.
The bummer is that Monroe indeed has a story worth knowing about. Though I’ve not yet read it, I have some hope that the new James Monroe by Tim McGrath is a worthy replacement as the modern go-to.
Though the author desperately tries, Monroe’s accomplishments just can’t be compared to those of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, etc. Our fifth president was a good soldier during the Revolution and led the nation for eight years during the so-called “Era of Good Feelings,” which included running unopposed for his 1820 re-election. But darker omens lurked beneath the surface (see: Missouri Compromise of 1820). Basically everything in Pre-Emancipation America was determined by who could get more slaves and keep the ones they already had.
The bummer is that Monroe indeed has a story worth knowing about. Though I’ve not yet read it, I have some hope that the new James Monroe by Tim McGrath is a worthy replacement as the modern go-to.
Unger clearly finds Monroe to be a highly admirable figure, and is desperate to convince everybody else to have the same opinion. Unfortunately for him, he is unable to provide any kind of fair or balanced appraisal of Monroe's life and presidency.
informative
medium-paced
I never new anything about James Monroe. Now I know something. The book did it's job.
While good enough to give me the basics of his life, it did seem to be the most biased presidential biography I've read so far (which, admittedly, is only 4)
I appreciated the full text of the Monroe Doctrine at the end. It would have been nice for the biographers of Jefferson and Madison (that I read at least) to include full text of the declaration, constitution, and bill of rights.
Also, you could make a drinking game out of the number of times the author uses the phrase "all but". Spoiler... it's 62 times. Doesn't sound like a lot for a long-ish book. But they popped up 2-3 times on one page. I say this in good humor though.
And finally, a bit of confusion for me- on page 322 of my edition he mentions that Maria Hester gave birth to her "second child, a son", then page 323 says when her son was old enough to travel, she "became pregnant with her second child". And finally, on page 339 "Maria Hester gave birth to her second son"
I appreciated the full text of the Monroe Doctrine at the end. It would have been nice for the biographers of Jefferson and Madison (that I read at least) to include full text of the declaration, constitution, and bill of rights.
Also, you could make a drinking game out of the number of times the author uses the phrase "all but". Spoiler... it's 62 times. Doesn't sound like a lot for a long-ish book. But they popped up 2-3 times on one page. I say this in good humor though.
And finally, a bit of confusion for me- on page 322 of my edition he mentions that Maria Hester gave birth to her "second child, a son", then page 323 says when her son was old enough to travel, she "became pregnant with her second child". And finally, on page 339 "Maria Hester gave birth to her second son"
fast-paced
Ugh. Everything good was from Monroe and anything not was someone else's. Cannot read another dig at Madison.
This book was enjoyable to read because Unger is such an obvious fan of Monroe. His enthusiasm made the writing engaging and interesting, and that’s great in a subject that can often be dry. It’s also the reason this book can garner no more than a 3/5 stars.
Though informative, the obvious positive bias towards Monroe is just too extreme, and critical analysis of his presidency and life suffers because of it - particularly in Unger’s unwillingness to address Monroe’s views and policies in regards to enslaved peoples, and his reluctance to explore Monroe’s detractors and what merits they may have had.
Flowery and fun to read, but not a fully fleshed out and unbiased biography.
Though informative, the obvious positive bias towards Monroe is just too extreme, and critical analysis of his presidency and life suffers because of it - particularly in Unger’s unwillingness to address Monroe’s views and policies in regards to enslaved peoples, and his reluctance to explore Monroe’s detractors and what merits they may have had.
Flowery and fun to read, but not a fully fleshed out and unbiased biography.