Posts from — November 2009

I just finished reading “John Quincy Adams” by Lynn Hudson Parsons. Great biography. It was nice that it was only about 300 pages, unlike the other biographies that I end up reading that have more like 600. The author does a great job of encapsulating our 6th president’s life without using “historian speak” or editoriallizing too much. I believe only David McCullough could write a better bio. I can sum JQA up by saying he was a very learned man, someone with a servant’s heart, a patriot and statesman like his father, but a lousy president and politician. I find it interesting that the author devotes very little time to his actual presidency other than to show how his distaste and therefore lack of “electioneering” pretty much made him easy pickings for his opponents. I can’t say I agree completely with all of his political philosophies, but the man had principles and a devotion to the Union. The fact that he was called into service as a member of the House of Representatives after he was president until the day he died (he actually died in the House) shows his statesmanship. His work as an opponent of the spread of slavery will be his legacy, and though historians are not kind to his years in the White House, no historian can doubt his integrity and love for his country. Overall, this bio gets 4 stars. Thanks for reading.