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The Last Founding Father
- James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness
- Narrated by: Michael McConnohie
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
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Publisher's summary
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.
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)
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Overall
- Elaine Martin
- 12-22-10
Readable, but more hero worship than history
I am not a historian, but after having listened to several books about revolutionary era history and politics I found it difficult to listen to this one. Unger's Monroe almost never makes an error in judgement, is single-handedly responsible for America's post-Madison economic boom, and is heroic to all of his time. Even George Washington doesn't get this kind of hero worship - at least not in Chernow's "Washington, A Life".
That said, as a work of hero worship it is engaging and well written, and well performed by McConnohie. If historical perspective and balance is not your goal you will likely enjoy listening to it.
At the time I read it it was the only biography of Monroe on Audible so I can't suggest you to listen to a different one. However, if you're going to read it keep your skepticism on guard.
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34 people found this helpful
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Overall
- TSTOCK
- 04-30-10
Hagiography, Not History
The prologue to Unger's book had me worried by the number of superlatives he used to describe Monroe. As I got further into the book, I realized Unger's Monroe was a saint, practically perfect in every way. I found this book to be a one-dimensional portrait of a man, not Unger's saint, whose main legacy, largely ignored by Unger, was bitter party politics (witness the election of 1824) and a refusal to address in any meaningful way the festering sore of slavery.
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15 people found this helpful
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- David I. Williams
- 04-23-13
Good introduction, Worth Listening To.
In this biography Harlow Giles Unger brings us a portrait of a man who few know much about today. Born in colonial Virginia Monroe was orphaned at a young age. He took on the responsibility of raising his younger siblings. When the American Revolution broke out Monroe joined up. He became an officer, was wounded at the Battle of Trenton, was decorated by Washington. He served as a Congressman, a Senator, as Governor of Virginia, and as Ambassador to the French Republic. Later he would serve as Secretary of State and Secretary of War under James Madison. He would then succeed Madison as President.
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.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 05-16-15
Unbalanced Hero Worship
This is by far the worst biography I have ever read, and I have read many. Right away in the Prologue when the author wrote "John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison were mere caretaker presidents who left the nation bankrupt...", I knew I was in for a one-sided hero-worship biography, and that is what I got. The author portrays Monroe as faultless and virtually everyone except Washington as bumbling and malicious fools. The continuous adulatory adjectives chosen to portray Monroe and his wife, and the descriptions of how his admirers "trembled with emotion" and his adversaries "trembled with fear" became really, really annoying. I rarely yell at my audiobooks during my commute. This is just embarrassingly unprofessional history.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Bob S
- 08-13-11
Great story of an amazing man
Most of us know him merely as a name in the list of Presidents. This enlightening book shows him as so much more. He brought real change to America and set our nation on a course toward greatness. He was devoted to his family and to his country.
This book is very well written and the audio version is very entertaining as well as informative. This is one of the few books that I plan to listen to again
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- Jean
- 02-07-15
Compelling story of an under estimated president
I have read Unger’s biographies of John Quincy Adams, Patrick Henry and George Washington and have enjoyed his writing style.
The author does a good job telling the story of the pre-presidential years in a fast paced informative succinct manner. In the book Unger claims Monroe alone wrote the Monroe Doctrine. Yet in his biography of John Q. Adams he implied John Q. helped Monroe author the document. Unger states that Monroe was not a strategic thinker but he describes him as hard working, observant and popular. Madison had the advantage of being president during the post war economic boom. He was the first president to do away with taxes including property taxes as the government was making a good income from other fee such as tariff fees.
Unger does go into the role and contribution of Monroe’s wife Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, who revealed great courage in obtaining the freedom of Lafayette’s wife Adrienne and her family from prison during the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. James Monroe was the Ambassador to France during the Reign of Terror. Elizabeth Monroe was considered to be an outstanding First Lady even as she struggled with rheumatoid arthritis. I have read bits and pieces of this daring, courage act by Elizabeth Monroe in facing the prison officials holding a peerage family being held for the guillotine and rescuing them. I wish someone would write a book about this feat of Elizabeth Monroe. I think this would make a good doctoral thesis as little has been written about the event.
In 2014 I read two different biographies about James Madison, and they differ a bit from the figure that Unger paints in this book. I noted in the other biographies that Madison bought Monroe’s dishes and furniture to help him feed his family when Monroe fell into financial problems.
The author points out that Monroe was the only early president other than George Washington to be elected to two terms unopposed. Monroe was the only early president other than George Washington to tour the country while he was president. The book was well written, meticulously research and a delight to read. For those who love trivia the book has lots of trivia facts. The book was narrated by Michael McConnohie.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Doug
- 10-08-11
Wonderful!
Excellent telling of Monroe's story! The author offers great background material. The book is well read.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Ugo
- 11-16-10
Monroe - The last founding father
A timely reminder of a great, self made patriot and world stateman. It brings into focus the courage of a young nation to defend the cause of the freedom of nations and individuals.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Aaron Janz
- 03-15-17
Excellent, but biased
While this book was very well written, informative, and entertaining, it becomes clear within the first few sentences that Unger idolizes Monroe and that the book will continuously praise and deeply discuss all of his positive aspects, while ignoring or brushing off some of his more negative ones. He largely discounts the accomplishments of many of the other founding fathers in an effort to make Monroe stand out as their superior. All that being said, it is still a very good book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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- waterviewgal
- 11-22-11
Poor scholarship, uncritical, over the top
James Monroe was an important and interesting character. Unger makes him uninteresting and a saint. There are an excessive number of factual errors to add to the mix. There are several good biographies of Monroe. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. The reading is overly dramatic but it does fit the author's intent quite well.
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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.
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Best narrator of all the audio books I've listened
- By grimm79 on 12-12-17
By: James Traub
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James Madison
- America's First Politician
- By: Jay Cost
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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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.
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Good listen
- By James Shannon on 06-27-22
By: Jay Cost
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James Madison
- A Biography
- By: Ralph Ketcham
- Narrated by: Bill Burrows
- Length: 38 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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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.
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Narrator Too Robotic
- By Anonymous User on 09-20-21
By: Ralph Ketcham
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James Monroe
- A Life
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Large and inconsistent, much like Monroe himself.
- By Kindle Customer on 01-31-21
By: Tim McGrath
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The Three Lives of James Madison
- Genius, Partisan, President
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 34 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Cogently organized, meticulously balanced
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 06-15-18
By: Noah Feldman
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James Madison
- A Life Reconsidered
- By: Lynne Cheney
- Narrated by: Eliza Foss
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Great man, great ideas, muddling book
- By NDFletch on 06-13-15
By: Lynne Cheney
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John Quincy Adams
- Militant Spirit
- By: James Traub
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 25 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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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.
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Best narrator of all the audio books I've listened
- By grimm79 on 12-12-17
By: James Traub
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James Madison
- America's First Politician
- By: Jay Cost
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
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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.
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Good listen
- By James Shannon on 06-27-22
By: Jay Cost
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James Madison
- A Biography
- By: Ralph Ketcham
- Narrated by: Bill Burrows
- Length: 38 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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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.
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Narrator Too Robotic
- By Anonymous User on 09-20-21
By: Ralph Ketcham
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American Lion
- Andrew Jackson in the White House
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Richard McGonagle
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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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.
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Unlikable Old Hickory
- By John M on 01-05-09
By: Jon Meacham
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John Quincy Adams
- American Visionary
- By: Fred Kaplan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 27 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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In this fresh and lively biography rich in literary analysis and new historical detail, Fred Kaplan brings into focus the dramatic life of John Quincy Adams - the little known and much misunderstood sixth president of the United States and the first son of John and Abigail Adams - and persuasively demonstrates how Adams's inspiring, progressive vision guided his life and helped shape the course of America.
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Destined by birth, mentored by greats...
- By Jonathan Love on 03-04-16
By: Fred Kaplan
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John Quincy Adams
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Informative and well written.
- By Gotta Tellya on 08-20-14
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Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann, Jon Meacham
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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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.
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A Man and Biography Relevant to Our Day
- By Darwin8u on 11-14-12
By: Jon Meacham
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The Unexpected President
- The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur
- By: Scott S. Greenberger
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Despite his promising start as a young man, by his early 50s Chester A. Arthur was known as the crooked crony of New York machine boss Roscoe Conkling. For years Arthur had been perceived as unfit to govern, not only by critics and the vast majority of his fellow citizens but by his own conscience. As President James A. Garfield struggled for his life, Arthur knew better than his detractors that he failed to meet the high standard a president must uphold. And yet, from the moment President Arthur took office, he proved to be not just honest but brave.
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Exceptional
- By Jean on 07-30-18
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Lafayette
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Matthew Boston
- Length: 18 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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In this gripping biography, acclaimed author Harlow Giles Unger paints an intimate portrait of the heroic young French soldier who, at 19, renounced a life of luxury in Paris and Versailles to fight and bleed for liberty - at Brandywine, Valley Forge, and Yorktown. A major general in the Continental army, he quickly earned the love of his troops, his fellow commanders, and his commander in chief, George Washington, who called him his "adopted son".
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WE GET IT! HE'S A "KNIGHT"
- By Anonymous User on 01-13-22
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John Quincy Adams
- A Public Life, A Private Life
- By: Paul C. Nagel
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall