Overview

He fought for Washington, served with Lincoln, witnessed Bunker Hill, and sounded the clarion against slavery on the eve of the Civil War. He negotiated an end to the War of 1812, engineered the annexation of Florida, and won the Supreme Court decision that freed the African captives of La Amistad. He served his nation as minister to six countries, secretary of state, senator, congressman, and president. John Quincy Adams was all of these things and more. In this masterful biography, award-winning author Harlow Giles Unger reveals Adams as a towering figure in the nation's formative years and one of the most courageous figures in American history-which is why he ranked first in John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning Profiles in Courage. For this magisterial biography, Unger makes use of a little-known national treasure: John Quincy Adams' diary, started at age ten, giving us an eye-witness account of sixty-five years of critical American history.

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9781470819019

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Reviews

Unger's biography of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, is enlightening and, with Heller's accomplished reading, entertaining...Johnny Heller's even pacing, perfect tone, and flawless reading make this a pleasure to listen to. -- SoundCommentary.com [A] compelling volume. -- Federal Lawyer [A] lively and often intimate account...John Quincy Adams is usually brushed aside in discussions of the presidents, but Unger makes a convincing argument that the presidency was only a footnote in one of the most important public careers in American history. -- Asbury Park Sunday Press Unger captures the many sides of Adams and his era in the superb John Quincy Adams...Eloquent, irritating, and fiercely committed to his work, John Quincy Adams lived an extraordinary life, and Unger tells his story convincingly in this compelling narrative. -- BookPage A neglected president receives his due as a statesman and practical politician...A fine examination of a life, well deserving a place alongside David McCullough's study of Adams pere. -- Kirkus Reviews Unger's well-presented portrait merits American-history readers' attention. -- Booklist [An] in-depth biography. The reader comes to know John Quincy Adams intimately as a son, father, statesman, and patriot...The individuals encountered in the narrative are familiar, but-in the best tradition of David McCullough's biographies-the pace and plotting pull readers forward even though they may know the ending. Unger makes use of many years of JQA's diaries and expertly dissects intricate political and (potentially confusing) family relationships. In all, he succeeds in making clear why JQA was the first subject of John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. Verdict: Unger does a masterful job. Although there are other books on John Quincy Adams, American history and political history buffs will find this stirring work irresistible. -- Library Journal Spare prose clarifies the overview of political complications and intricate family dynamics, revealing Adams as a historically overlooked yet key transitional figure who witnessed the birth of the nation and endured its nearly irreparable geographic squabbles of the 1840s. -- Publishers Weekly In Unger's hands, Adams comes close to becoming an inspiring character...Unger makes him seem as overweeningly intelligent, clever, headstrong, insecure, brave, and insightful as he probably was. -- American History

Unger's well-presented portrait merits American-history readers' attention. -- Booklist Unger's biography of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, is enlightening and, with Heller's accomplished reading, entertaining...Johnny Heller's even pacing, perfect tone, and flawless reading make this a pleasure to listen to. -- SoundCommentary.com Unger captures the many sides of Adams and his era in the superb John Quincy Adams...Eloquent, irritating, and fiercely committed to his work, John Quincy Adams lived an extraordinary life, and Unger tells his story convincingly in this compelling narrative. -- BookPage Spare prose clarifies the overview of political complications and intricate family dynamics, revealing Adams as a historically overlooked yet key transitional figure who witnessed the birth of the nation and endured its nearly irreparable geographic squabbles of the 1840s. -- Publishers Weekly In Unger's hands, Adams comes close to becoming an inspiring character...Unger makes him seem as overweeningly intelligent, clever, headstrong, insecure, brave, and insightful as he probably was. -- American History A neglected president receives his due as a statesman and practical politician...A fine examination of a life, well deserving a place alongside David McCullough's study of Adams pere. -- Kirkus Reviews [A] lively and often intimate account...John Quincy Adams is usually brushed aside in discussions of the presidents, but Unger makes a convincing argument that the presidency was only a footnote in one of the most important public careers in American history. -- Asbury Park Sunday Press [A] compelling volume. -- Federal Lawyer [An] in-depth biography. The reader comes to know John Quincy Adams intimately as a son, father, statesman, and patriot...The individuals encountered in the narrative are familiar, but-in the best tradition of David McCullough's biographies-the pace and plotting pull readers forward even though they may know the ending. Unger makes use of many years of JQA's diaries and expertly dissects intricate political and (potentially confusing) family relationships. In all, he succeeds in making clear why JQA was the first subject of John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage. Verdict: Unger does a masterful job. Although there are other books on John Quincy Adams, American history and political history buffs will find this stirring work irresistible. -- Library Journal

Author Information

Harlow Giles Unger, a former distinguished visiting fellow in American history at George Washington's Mount Vernon, is a veteran journalist, broadcaster, educator, and historian. He is the author of more than twenty books, including several biographies of the Founding Fathers. He has also authored histories of the early Republic as well as numerous books on American education. He lives in New York. Johnny Heller, winner of dozens of AudioFile Earphones Awards, is a two-time winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration and was named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013.

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