Martin Van Buren

A Captivating Guide to the Man Who Served as the Eighth President of the United States

By: Captivating History

Narrated by: Duke Holm

Length: 2 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Explore the captivating life of Martin Van Buren  

History chiefly remembers Martin Van Buren as the eighth president of the United States (1837– 1841). He was also, however, notable for achieving many firsts in American politics. He was the first American president to be born a citizen of the country, and not a British subject. He was the first Dutchman and the first man without Anglo-Saxon ancestry to serve as president. He was the first and only American president to have been raised in a language other than English. He was also the first New Yorker to ascend to the Oval Office in the White House, at a time when Manhattan was becoming the urban heart of a future America (as it is today). Historians have also recognized him as the first "professional politician" to occupy the presidential seat. His expressed capacity for political intrigue, strategic pragmatism, and politically expedient “non-committalism” has earned him his fair share of critics and detractors.  

The darkness of his times (the first depression, the question of slavery, the forceful relocation of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands) easily come to mind, but America was also hurtling towards the future we live in during Van Buren’s reign. The seeds of the modernity we recognize so well - railway networks, democracy, the printing press - were sowed in his era. 

Six small townships and cities - in Maine, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Arkansas - still bear his surname. To understand the history of American politics, one must understand Van Buren’s often overlooked legacy. This audiobook will give you an in-depth understanding of this man, born a tavern owner's son, who became one of the founders of the Democratic Party. Get this audiobook now to learn more about Martin Van Buren!

©2018 Captivating History (P)2018 Captivating History

Audible needs to get a real Van Buren bio . . .

First, the narration is absolutely atrocious. I spent half the time wondering if the narrator was a real person or AI. Pronunciation of words such as memoir, subsequent, and posthumously were laughably bad. Pauses and cadence were unnatural and confounding at times. Audible should hire me next time.

Second, the story is not good at all. In the short time span of two hours, this book carries more water for Van Buren than Niagra Falls. The book feels like a pseudo opinion piece written to engrandize Van Buren and make excuses for certain of his behaviors. I could've received a more nuanced and in-depth look at the man by reading his Wikipedia page.

Finally, this is Audible's fault. Audible needs to have a real Van Buren bio available to listeners. This two-hour version won't do. I've read bios on each of the first seven presidents. Van Buren is the first president (when going chronologically) that doesn't have a bio on Audible.

Was there no producer on this recording?

The information in this audiobook was fine, but the voice actor consistently mispronounced basic words. I know that’s a pedantic criticism but it was really grating. I only started writing them down in the last 15 minutes of the audiobook, but here are a few examples.

Subsequent as sub-see-quent,
Memoir as mem-wire,
Assuaged as a-sewaged,
Vehemently as vehemenently,
and so many more that I didn’t write down. It made it hard to take this biography seriously.

Poor performance

The narrator almost seems to be a computerized voice-not sure how a prepared narrator could mispronounce words as poorly as Siri. The story was not nearly as captivating as those I have listened to of the earlier presidents. I suspect justice was not done to Van Buren’s legacy.

Pass this by...

Terrible presentation and just about as boring a listen as I could imagine. There was information presented but it sounded like a 5th graded wrote it for a class project.

Short and sweet.

Van Buren seems like a much more interesting character than given credit. If you read the Andrew Jackson biography there appears much more to a man that started from a tavern owner's son that becomes President. Wish there was a more detailed account of his life.

Short

Much too Short and "skimming". I think this could very well be done better with more in-depth discussion into his life and presidency. Thank you for producing a Teaser introduction into the life of Martin Van Buren.

Martin Van Buren was more….

President Van Buren was apparently more than a one term President. Americans often admire a President whom goes to and leads the Country in winning wars. But America often thinks little about Presidents whom keep the Country out of a War. Van Buren did so twice in just four years. This is a short read (listen). But it says a lot about the man and the history of our Nation during his time.

Ok as a summary

This book presents a reasonably good cursory review. The reader consistently mispronounced “memoir” as mem-wire.

Poorly edited

The number of mispronounced words is off putting. I feel an editor should have caught these glaring errors.

Brief and Concise

A brief and concise biography of Martin Van Buren capturing the most important parts his life and political career.