The Lost Founding Father
John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics

[URL not allowed] Most of William Cooper’s ten books are focused on the mid-19th century American South with an emphasis on the Civil War and slavery. But he agreed to undertake this study of John Quincy Adams at the behest of David Herbert Donald’s widow. Donald had begun work......more

The book begins when ten-year-old John Quincy joins his father on assignment to France and then covers his entire life in some areas with either more or less detail. Cooper covers in-depth the period when John Quincy Adams was Secretary of State under President James Monroe. He details Adams’ author......more

It's not unreasonable to ask whether a new biography of John Quincy Adams is needed. In recent years Paul Nagel, Robert Remini, Harlow Giles Unger, Fred Kaplan, and James Traub have all published books that chronicle the life of America's sixth president, which raises the question of what William J.......more

I daresay John Quincy Adams has become my favorite president. Although it isn't his presidency that I admire. It is the man and, in particular, his career in Congress following his presidency. He wasn't afraid to speak up for what he believed. He got away with a lot! Politics today pales in comparis......more

I'm always wary of a book whose author seeks to justify its existence in the preface, by critiquing books that have come before, suggesting that this book will be both different and better. It makes the author sound defensive and dismissive - and if you're going to take that approach, you'd better b......more