
The Last Founding Father
James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $29.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Michael McConnohie
About this listen
In this lively and compelling biography, Harlow Giles Unger reveals the dominant political figure of a generation. A fierce fighter in four critical Revolutionary War battles and a courageous survivor of Valley Forge and a near-fatal wound at the Battle of Trenton, James Monroe (1751 - 1831) went on to become America's first full-time politician, dedicating his life to securing America's national and international durability.
Decorated by George Washington for his exploits as a soldier, Monroe became a congressman, a senator, U.S. minister to France and Britain, governor of Virginia, secretary of state, secretary of war, and finally America's fifth president.
The country embraced Monroe's dreams of empire and elected him to two terms, the second time unanimously. Mentored by each of Americas first four presidents, Monroe was unquestionably the best prepared president in our history.
Like David McCullough's John Adams and Jon Meacham's recent book on Andrew Jackson, this new biography of Monroe is both a solid listen and a stellar scholarship history in the grand tradition.
©2009 Harlow Giles Unger (P)2009 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Three Lives of James Madison
- Genius, Partisan, President
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 34 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the course of his life, James Madison changed the United States three times: First, he designed the Constitution, led the struggle for its adoption and ratification, then drafted the Bill of Rights. As an older, cannier politician, he cofounded the original Republican party, setting the course of American political partisanship. Finally, having pioneered a foreign policy based on economic sanctions, he took the United States into a high-risk conflict, becoming the first wartime president and, despite the odds, winning.
-
-
Cogently organized, meticulously balanced
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 06-15-18
By: Noah Feldman
-
American Lion
- Andrew Jackson in the White House
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad.
-
-
Unlikable Old Hickory
- By John M on 01-05-09
By: Jon Meacham
-
John Quincy Adams
- Militant Spirit
- By: James Traub
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 25 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Quincy Adams was the last of his kind - a Puritan from the age of the Founders who despised party and compromise yet dedicated himself to politics and government. The son of John Adams, he was a brilliant ambassador and secretary of state, a frustrated president at a historic turning point in American politics, and a dedicated congressman who literally died in office - at the age of 80, in the House of Representatives, in the midst of an impassioned political debate.
-
-
Best narrator of all the audio books I've listened
- By grimm79 on 12-12-17
By: James Traub
-
James Madison
- America's First Politician
- By: Jay Cost
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do you solve a problem like James Madison? The fourth president is one of the most confounding figures in early American history; his political trajectory seems almost intentionally inconsistent. He was both for and against a strong federal government. He wrote about the dangers of political parties in the Federalist Papers and then helped to found the Republican Party just a few years later. This so-called Madison problem has occupied scholars for ages.
-
-
Good listen
- By James Shannon on 06-27-22
By: Jay Cost
-
Polk
- The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America
- By: Walter R. Borneman
- Narrated by: Alan Nebelthau
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a major political biography of a great American president - who won a war, transformed the government, and doubled the size of the United States...in four years. When Polk was sworn in as the 11th president, what followed was one of the most consequential presidencies in history.
-
-
Polk: One of our most important Preidents
- By Rik GNV on 10-12-08
-
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jon Meacham
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era.
-
-
A Man and Biography Relevant to Our Day
- By Darwin8u on 11-14-12
By: Jon Meacham
-
The Three Lives of James Madison
- Genius, Partisan, President
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 34 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the course of his life, James Madison changed the United States three times: First, he designed the Constitution, led the struggle for its adoption and ratification, then drafted the Bill of Rights. As an older, cannier politician, he cofounded the original Republican party, setting the course of American political partisanship. Finally, having pioneered a foreign policy based on economic sanctions, he took the United States into a high-risk conflict, becoming the first wartime president and, despite the odds, winning.
-
-
Cogently organized, meticulously balanced
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 06-15-18
By: Noah Feldman
-
American Lion
- Andrew Jackson in the White House
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad.
-
-
Unlikable Old Hickory
- By John M on 01-05-09
By: Jon Meacham
-
John Quincy Adams
- Militant Spirit
- By: James Traub
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 25 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Quincy Adams was the last of his kind - a Puritan from the age of the Founders who despised party and compromise yet dedicated himself to politics and government. The son of John Adams, he was a brilliant ambassador and secretary of state, a frustrated president at a historic turning point in American politics, and a dedicated congressman who literally died in office - at the age of 80, in the House of Representatives, in the midst of an impassioned political debate.
-
-
Best narrator of all the audio books I've listened
- By grimm79 on 12-12-17
By: James Traub
-
James Madison
- America's First Politician
- By: Jay Cost
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do you solve a problem like James Madison? The fourth president is one of the most confounding figures in early American history; his political trajectory seems almost intentionally inconsistent. He was both for and against a strong federal government. He wrote about the dangers of political parties in the Federalist Papers and then helped to found the Republican Party just a few years later. This so-called Madison problem has occupied scholars for ages.
-
-
Good listen
- By James Shannon on 06-27-22
By: Jay Cost
-
Polk
- The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America
- By: Walter R. Borneman
- Narrated by: Alan Nebelthau
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a major political biography of a great American president - who won a war, transformed the government, and doubled the size of the United States...in four years. When Polk was sworn in as the 11th president, what followed was one of the most consequential presidencies in history.
-
-
Polk: One of our most important Preidents
- By Rik GNV on 10-12-08
-
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jon Meacham
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era.
-
-
A Man and Biography Relevant to Our Day
- By Darwin8u on 11-14-12
By: Jon Meacham
-
James Madison
- A Life Reconsidered
- By: Lynne Cheney
- Narrated by: Eliza Foss
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new biography of the fourth US president, from New York Times best-selling author Lynne Cheney. James Madison was a true genius of the early republic, the leader who did more than any other to create the nation we know today. This majestic new biography tells his story. Outwardly reserved, Madison was the intellectual driving force behind the Constitution. His visionary political philosophy was a crucial factor behind the Constitution’s ratification, and his political savvy was of major importance in getting the new government underway.
-
-
Great man, great ideas, muddling book
- By NDFletch on 06-13-15
By: Lynne Cheney
-
Andrew Jackson
- His Life and Times
- By: H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 25 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The extraordinary story of Andrew Jackson—the colorful, dynamic, and forceful president who ushered in the Age of Democracy and set a still young America on its path to greatness—told by the bestselling author of The First American.
-
-
Very Thorough
- By Eric on 02-07-06
By: H.W. Brands
-
Lion of Liberty
- Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Known to generations of Americans for his stirring call to arms, “Give me liberty or give me death,” Patrick Henry is all but forgotten today as the first of the Founding Fathers to call for independence, the first to call for revolution, and the first to call for a bill of rights. If Washington was the “Sword of the Revolution” and Jefferson, “the Pen,” Patrick Henry more than earned his epithet as “the Trumpet” of the Revolution for rousing Americans to arms in the Revolutionary War.
-
-
A Decent Book on an Amazing Character
- By David I. Williams on 05-13-13
-
Washington
- A Life
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 41 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Washington: A Life celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation. This crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his troubled boyhood, his precocious feats in the French and Indian War, his creation of Mount Vernon, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America's first president.
-
-
A sad day when my book was done!
- By ButterLegume on 12-13-10
By: Ron Chernow
-
John Marshall
- The Chief Justice Who Saved the Nation
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A soul-stirring biography of John Marshall, the young Republic's great chief justice who led the Supreme Court to power and brought law and order to the nation. In the political turmoil that convulsed America after George Washington's death, the surviving Founding Fathers went mad - literally pummeling each other in Congress and challenging one another to deadly duels in their quest for power. Out of the political intrigue, one man emerged to restore calm and dignity to the government: John Marshall.
-
-
the life and times of John Marshall
- By Michael Z. on 03-17-15
-
Henry Clay
- America's Greatest Statesman
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A compelling new biography of America's most powerful speaker of the House, who held the divided nation together for three decades and who was Lincoln's guiding light.
-
-
Henry Clay - Better to Right than President
- By Stephen on 05-22-17
-
'Mr. President'
- George Washington and the Making of the Nation's Highest Office
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although the framers gave the president little authority, Washington knew whatever he did would set precedents for generations of his successors. To ensure their ability to defend the nation, he simply ignored the Constitution when he thought it necessary and reshaped the presidency into what James Madison called a "monarchical presidency." Modern scholars call it the "imperial presidency."
-
-
A political genius
- By Michael on 03-28-17
-
James Monroe
- A Life
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The extraordinary life of James Monroe: Soldier, senator, diplomat, and the last Founding Father to hold the presidency, a man who helped transform 13 colonies into a vibrant and mighty republic.
-
-
Large and inconsistent, much like Monroe himself.
- By Kindle Customer on 01-31-21
By: Tim McGrath
-
John Adams
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 29 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
McCullough's John Adams has the sweep and vitality of a great novel. This is history on a grand scale, an audiobook about politics, war, and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, it is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived.
-
-
An outstanding biography
- By Davis on 07-10-06
By: David McCullough
-
John Quincy Adams
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Informative and well written.
- By Gotta Tellya on 08-20-14
-
Grant
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 48 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow reveals in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.
-
-
Excellent Book (BUT WHERE IS THE PDF FILES)????
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-17
By: Ron Chernow
-
Alexander Hamilton
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 35 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Historians have long told the story of America’s birth as the triumph of Jefferson’s democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power.
-
-
An Outstanding & Riveting Book!
- By Kevin on 03-04-05
By: Ron Chernow
Critic reviews
"[A] well-written biography...Unger presents the fifth president as a man of independence and initiative rather than merely a disciple of Jefferson, Madison, and John Quincy Adams...Will appeal to a more popular audience, especially those who enjoy presidential history or studying the Founding Fathers. Historians and history students should read as well." ( Library Journal)
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
James Monroe
- A Life
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The extraordinary life of James Monroe: Soldier, senator, diplomat, and the last Founding Father to hold the presidency, a man who helped transform 13 colonies into a vibrant and mighty republic.
-
-
Large and inconsistent, much like Monroe himself.
- By Kindle Customer on 01-31-21
By: Tim McGrath
-
John Quincy Adams
- Militant Spirit
- By: James Traub
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 25 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Quincy Adams was the last of his kind - a Puritan from the age of the Founders who despised party and compromise yet dedicated himself to politics and government. The son of John Adams, he was a brilliant ambassador and secretary of state, a frustrated president at a historic turning point in American politics, and a dedicated congressman who literally died in office - at the age of 80, in the House of Representatives, in the midst of an impassioned political debate.
-
-
Best narrator of all the audio books I've listened
- By grimm79 on 12-12-17
By: James Traub
-
American Lion
- Andrew Jackson in the White House
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad.
-
-
Unlikable Old Hickory
- By John M on 01-05-09
By: Jon Meacham
-
John Quincy Adams
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Informative and well written.
- By Gotta Tellya on 08-20-14
-
James Madison
- America's First Politician
- By: Jay Cost
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do you solve a problem like James Madison? The fourth president is one of the most confounding figures in early American history; his political trajectory seems almost intentionally inconsistent. He was both for and against a strong federal government. He wrote about the dangers of political parties in the Federalist Papers and then helped to found the Republican Party just a few years later. This so-called Madison problem has occupied scholars for ages.
-
-
Good listen
- By James Shannon on 06-27-22
By: Jay Cost
-
John Quincy Adams
- A Man for the Whole People
- By: Randall Woods
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 38 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this masterful biography, historian Randall B. Woods peels back the many layers of John Quincy’s long life, exposing a rich and complicated family saga and a political legacy that transformed the American Republic. This deeply researched, brilliantly written volume delves into John Quincy’s intellectual pursuits and political thought; his loving, yet at times strained, marriage to Louisa Catherine Johnson, whom he met in London; his troubling relationships with his three sons; and his fiery post-presidency rebirth in Congress as he became the chamber’s most vocal opponent of slavery.
-
-
Great Story
- By Sean Hicks on 04-17-25
By: Randall Woods
-
James Monroe
- A Life
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The extraordinary life of James Monroe: Soldier, senator, diplomat, and the last Founding Father to hold the presidency, a man who helped transform 13 colonies into a vibrant and mighty republic.
-
-
Large and inconsistent, much like Monroe himself.
- By Kindle Customer on 01-31-21
By: Tim McGrath
-
John Quincy Adams
- Militant Spirit
- By: James Traub
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 25 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Quincy Adams was the last of his kind - a Puritan from the age of the Founders who despised party and compromise yet dedicated himself to politics and government. The son of John Adams, he was a brilliant ambassador and secretary of state, a frustrated president at a historic turning point in American politics, and a dedicated congressman who literally died in office - at the age of 80, in the House of Representatives, in the midst of an impassioned political debate.
-
-
Best narrator of all the audio books I've listened
- By grimm79 on 12-12-17
By: James Traub
-
American Lion
- Andrew Jackson in the White House
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson's election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad.
-
-
Unlikable Old Hickory
- By John M on 01-05-09
By: Jon Meacham
-
John Quincy Adams
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Informative and well written.
- By Gotta Tellya on 08-20-14
-
James Madison
- America's First Politician
- By: Jay Cost
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do you solve a problem like James Madison? The fourth president is one of the most confounding figures in early American history; his political trajectory seems almost intentionally inconsistent. He was both for and against a strong federal government. He wrote about the dangers of political parties in the Federalist Papers and then helped to found the Republican Party just a few years later. This so-called Madison problem has occupied scholars for ages.
-
-
Good listen
- By James Shannon on 06-27-22
By: Jay Cost
-
John Quincy Adams
- A Man for the Whole People
- By: Randall Woods
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 38 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this masterful biography, historian Randall B. Woods peels back the many layers of John Quincy’s long life, exposing a rich and complicated family saga and a political legacy that transformed the American Republic. This deeply researched, brilliantly written volume delves into John Quincy’s intellectual pursuits and political thought; his loving, yet at times strained, marriage to Louisa Catherine Johnson, whom he met in London; his troubling relationships with his three sons; and his fiery post-presidency rebirth in Congress as he became the chamber’s most vocal opponent of slavery.
-
-
Great Story
- By Sean Hicks on 04-17-25
By: Randall Woods
-
Mr. Jefferson's Hammer
- William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy
- By: Robert M. Owens
- Narrated by: Doug McDonald
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Often remembered as the president who died shortly after taking office, William Henry Harrison remains misunderstood by most Americans. Before becoming the ninth president of the United States in 1841, Harrison was instrumental in shaping the early years of westward expansion. Robert M. Owens now explores that era through the lens of Harrison’s career, providing a new synthesis of his role in the political development of Indiana Territory and in shaping Indian policy in the Old Northwest.
-
-
Title = Truth in Advertising
- By William Jenks on 06-18-19
By: Robert M. Owens
-
James Madison
- A Biography
- By: Ralph Ketcham
- Narrated by: Bill Burrows
- Length: 38 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best one-volume biography of Madison’s life, Ketcham’s biography not only traces Madison’s career, it gives listeners a sense of the man. As Madison said of his early years in Virginia under the study of Donald Robertson, who introduced him to thinkers like Montaigne and Montesquieu, "all that I have been in life I owe largely to that man." It also captures a side of Madison that is less rarely on display.
-
-
Narrator Too Robotic
- By Anonymous User on 09-20-21
By: Ralph Ketcham
-
Martin Van Buren
- America's First Politician
- By: James M. Bradley
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This new biography of Van Buren—the first full-scale portrait in four decades—charts his ascent from a tavern in the Hudson Valley to the presidency, concluding with his late-career involvement in an antislavery movement. Offering vivid profiles of the day's leading figures (Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, John Quincy Adams, DeWitt Clinton, James K. Polk), James Bradley's book depicts the struggle for power in the tumultuous decades leading up to the Civil War.
-
-
Excellent
- By Joseph T. Hobson on 05-19-25
By: James M. Bradley
-
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jon Meacham
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this magnificent biography, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston brings vividly to life an extraordinary man and his remarkable times. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power gives us Jefferson the politician and president, a great and complex human being forever engaged in the wars of his era.
-
-
A Man and Biography Relevant to Our Day
- By Darwin8u on 11-14-12
By: Jon Meacham
-
James Madison
- A Life Reconsidered
- By: Lynne Cheney
- Narrated by: Eliza Foss
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new biography of the fourth US president, from New York Times best-selling author Lynne Cheney. James Madison was a true genius of the early republic, the leader who did more than any other to create the nation we know today. This majestic new biography tells his story. Outwardly reserved, Madison was the intellectual driving force behind the Constitution. His visionary political philosophy was a crucial factor behind the Constitution’s ratification, and his political savvy was of major importance in getting the new government underway.
-
-
Great man, great ideas, muddling book
- By NDFletch on 06-13-15
By: Lynne Cheney
-
Polk
- The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America
- By: Walter R. Borneman
- Narrated by: Alan Nebelthau
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a major political biography of a great American president - who won a war, transformed the government, and doubled the size of the United States...in four years. When Polk was sworn in as the 11th president, what followed was one of the most consequential presidencies in history.
-
-
Polk: One of our most important Preidents
- By Rik GNV on 10-12-08
-
Lincoln
- By: David Herbert Donald
- Narrated by: Dick Estell
- Length: 30 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the best-selling tradition of Truman, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer David Herbert Donald offers a new classic in American history and biography - a masterly account of how one man's extraordinary political acumen steered the Union to victory in the Civil War, and of how his soaring rhetoric gave meaning to that agonizing struggle for nationhood and equality.
-
-
Lincoln not honest when it comes to his faith?
- By Carpe Diem on 07-19-19
-
A Country of Vast Designs
- James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent
- By: Robert W. Merry
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 18 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was locked in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over the rich lands of the Oregon Territory, which included what is now Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Texas, not yet part of the Union, was threatened by a more powerful Mexico. And the territories north and west of Texas---what would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and part of Colorado---belonged to Mexico.
-
-
A Decent Overview of Polk's Presidency
- By James on 06-20-10
By: Robert W. Merry
-
A Man of Iron
- The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland
- By: Troy Senik
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli, Troy Senik
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grover Cleveland’s political career—a dizzying journey that saw him rise from obscure lawyer to president of the United States in just three years—was marked by contradictions. A politician of uncharacteristic honesty and principle, he was nevertheless dogged by secrets from his personal life. A believer in limited government, he pushed presidential power to its limits to combat a crippling depression, suppress labor unrest, and resist the forces of American imperialism.
-
-
Worth the Wait!
- By Brian S Cunningham on 09-21-22
By: Troy Senik
-
John Adams: A Life
- By: John Ferling
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In John Adams: A Life, Ferling offers a compelling portrait of one of the giants of the Revolutionary era. Drawing on extensive research, Ferling depicts a reluctant revolutionary, a leader who was deeply troubled by the warfare that he helped to make, and a fiercely independent statesman. Bringing to life an exciting time, an age in which Adams played an important political and intellectual role. this book is a singular biography of the man who succeeded George Washington in the presidency and shepherded the fragile new nation through the most dangerous of times.
-
-
Excellent story, the narration ruined it for me
- By Benjamin on 04-09-19
By: John Ferling
-
Destiny and Power
- The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 25 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on President Bush’s personal diaries, on the diaries of his wife, Barbara, and on extraordinary access to the 41st president and his family, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham paints an intimate and surprising portrait of an intensely private man who led the nation through tumultuous times.
-
-
Fair and insightful
- By Jean on 12-02-15
By: Jon Meacham
-
John Tyler, the Accidental President
- By: Edward P. Crapol
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first vice president to become president on the death of the incumbent, John Tyler (1790-1862) was derided by critics as "His Accidency." In this biography of the 10th president, Edward P. Crapol challenges depictions of Tyler as a die-hard advocate of states' rights, limited government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Instead, he argues, Tyler manipulated the Constitution to increase the executive power of the presidency. Crapol also highlights Tyler's faith in America's national destiny and his belief in boundless territorial expansion.
-
-
Terrible book :( Incredibly TEDIOUS.
- By Mike on 10-02-19
By: Edward P. Crapol
This book has its good and bad points. It is well written and should be easy for the general reader. It is quite informative and gives a good portrait of Monroe. On the downside the author tries a little to hard to build up Monroe by pulling down others around him. Monroe was a firm supporter of the French Revolution and, like Jefferson and Madison, cheered on the slaughter of the former ruling class. This is played down considerably in this book. The author also finds it necessary to try and pull down the character of both John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams. Since the younger Adams was the Secretary of State during Monroe's presidency much credit is given to him for the success of the United States in that era. Unger tries to argue that Monroe was the better diplomat. The only reason that he gives is that Monroe was ambassador to France and Adams was not. He ignores the fact that Adams had been involved in Foreign service for most of his life, including a stint as the secretary and interpreter to the first US ambassador to Russia when he was a young teenager. Adams had served as Ambassador to Prussia and Russia. He had helped to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent. To dismiss his many accomplishments with a single backhanded comment was quite uncalled for.
It is a good book and is well worth reading.
Good introduction, Worth Listening To.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you could sum up The Last Founding Father in three words, what would they be?
very well presentedWho was your favorite character and why?
James MonroeWhich scene was your favorite?
Andrew Jackson at the John Quincy Adams inauguration ball.If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
A true patriot.Any additional comments?
such a good storyGreat Read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Integrity Matters
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Big fan of Monroe
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I can't believe that I was so totally unaware of the contributions of James Monroe. He has been totally eclipsed by Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, but according to Mr. Unger he may have been as instrumental as anyone in the success of the war for independence and he apparently played a large role in the Louisiana Purchase.
Without James Monroe would we even have the country we know today? It appears doubtful.
I was also unaware of the huge role he played in James Madison's administration and how successful his own two administrations were.
It is interesting that his popularity literally eliminated the two party system and may have contributed to problems in future years.
I found it a very informative read and would encourage others to learn more about James Monroe.
James Monroe
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hard to swallow
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
That being said, this biography did leave me with a greater understanding of that era in American history and the contributions James Monroe made to making this country great. I just wish it had been a little more balanced.
Entertaining but highly biased
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I Had No Idea
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Overall a great book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.