John Quincy Adams

Starred review from September 1, 1997
With his career still on an upward trajectory and the presidency beckoning, Adams, son of the second U.S. president, needed, so he acknowledged, "to repel a reproach which has been very assiduously spread abroad of a reserved, gloomy, unsocial temper." Because he appeared to be "reserved, cold, austere," it was easy for his political rivals to portray him as "a gloomy misanthropist." How he managed, despite wide unpopularity, to become the sixth president is an absorbing story, deftly told here. Nagel (Descent from Glory: Four Generations of the Adams Family) reveals a life bursting with promise, but so dominated by Abigail and John Adams as to extinguish their son's options and plunge him into a lifetime of intermittent depression. The younger Adams was an effective Russian ambassador in his 20s, a senator, a Harvard professor, a secretary of state, then president. In his post-White House years, as a representative from Massachusetts in a period dominated by slavery issues, he was a tenacious, courageous member of Congress, notes the author. At 80, in 1848, on the floor of the House, he rose to speak and collapsed with a stroke, dying two days later. In this brilliant, colorful life, Nagel evokes an Adams heretofore unseen and a Washington of unpaved streets and uncouth political passions. Illustrations not seen by PW.

Starred review from October 1, 1997
Of all American public figures, none led a more remarkable life than John Quincy Adams. The son of a president, Adams was an elected congressman, an accomplished diplomat, a president himself, and, after vacating the White House in virtual disgrace, a congressman once again from 1831 until his death in 1848. He was a man of letters, had a passion for science and technology, and, more important for the historian, kept a diary for nearly 70 years. With this excellent biography, Nagel continues a string of successful books on America's first families--the Adamses and the Lees (e.g., Descent from Glory, LJ 12/1/82, and The Lees of Virginia, LJ 6/15/90). Nagel focuses more on the private Adams, utilizing diary entries to provide keen insight into this extraordinary man, who often suffered from severe depression. The result is a fascinating psychobiography. Highly recommended for all libraries.--Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Ala.

Starred review from October 1, 1997
%% This is a multi-book review. SEE the title "Daniel Webster" for next imprint and review text. %% ((Reviewed October 1, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)