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A Country of Vast Designs
- James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 18 hrs and 58 mins
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Publisher's summary
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.
When Polk relinquished office four years later, the country had grown by more than a third as all these lands were added. The continental United States as we know it today was established - facing two oceans and positioned to dominate both.
In a one-term presidency, Polk completed the story of America's Manifest Destiny - extending its territory across the continent, from sea to sea, by threatening England and manufacturing a controversial and unpopular two-year war with Mexico that Abraham Lincoln, in Congress at the time, opposed as preemptive.
Robert W. Merry tells this story through powerful debates and towering figures: the outgoing President John Tyler and Polk's great mentor, Andrew Jackson; his defeated Whig opponent, Henry Clay; two famous generals, Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott; Secretary of State James Buchanan (who would precede Lincoln as president); Senate giants Thomas Hart Benton and Lewis Cass; Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun; and ex-president Martin Van Buren, like Polk a Jackson protégé, but now a Polk rival.
This was a time of tremendous clashing forces. A surging antislavery sentiment was at the center of the territorial fight. The struggle between a slave-owning South and an opposing North was leading inexorably to Civil War. In a gripping narrative, Merry illuminates this crucial epoch in U.S. history.
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Very Readable
- By Jean on 05-02-15
By: Thomas Fleming
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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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The Return of George Washington: 1783-1789
- By: Edward Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Although Washington is often overlooked in most accounts of the period, this masterful new history from Pulitzer Prize winner Edward J. Larson brilliantly uncovers Washington's vital role in shaping the Convention - and shows how it was only with Washington’s support and his willingness to serve as President that the states were brought together and ratified the Constitution, thereby saving the country.
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A readable history
- By Jean on 10-21-14
By: Edward Larson
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A Magnificent Catastrophe
- The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign
- By: Edward J. Larson
- Narrated by: John Dossett
- Length: 6 hrs
- Abridged
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A Magnificent Catastrophe tells the story of the most perverse, bizarre, nail-biting, and influential election battle ever in U.S. history: America's first true presidential campaign, and a contest so important to the future of the country that Jefferson referred to it as "the second American Revolution" because the outcome resolved so much unfinished business about just what kind of government we would have. This election in many ways determined just how democratic a country we would be.
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Get this if you have to use it for a class!!!
- By Gabriel on 03-03-17
By: Edward J. Larson
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Founding Rivals
- Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election that Saved a Nation
- By: Chris DeRose
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1789, James Madison and James Monroe ran against each other for Congress-the only time that two future presidents have contested a congressional seat. But what was at stake, as author Chris DeRose reveals in Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election That Saved a Nation, was more than personal ambition. This was a race that determined the future of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the very definition of the United States of America.
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A Must for Anyone Interested in the Constitution
- By Garshom L. Arkoff on 07-09-13
By: Chris DeRose
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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 Adams
- By: John Patrick Diggins
- Narrated by: Richard Rohan
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Perhaps no U.S. president was less suited for the practice of politics than John Adams. A gifted philosopher who helped lead the movement for American independence from its inception, Adams was unprepared for the realities of party politics that had already begun to dominate the new country before Washington left office. But, as John Patrick Diggins shows, Adams's contributions still resonate today.
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A Worthy Addition
- By Terry on 01-18-04
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American Heritage History of the Presidents
- By: Michael R. Beschloss
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 25 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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From George Washington's reluctant oath-taking through George W. Bush's leadership challenges after September 11, 2001, we view ambitious and fallible men through the new lens of the 21st century. Where did they succeed? Where did they fail? And what do we know now that we could not have known at the time?
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Good but Far from Great
- By Michael on 07-11-20
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Seward
- Lincoln's Indispensable Man
- By: Walter Stahr
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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From one of our most acclaimed new biographers - the first full life of the leader of Lincoln’s "team of rivals" to appear in more than 40 years. William Henry Seward was one of the most important Americans of the 19th century. Progressive governor of New York and outspoken U.S. senator, he was the odds-on favorite to win the 1860 Republican nomination for president. As secretary of state and Lincoln’s closest adviser during the Civil War, Seward not only managed foreign affairs but had a substantial role in military, political, and personnel matters.
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I Wish Doris Kearns Goodwin Had Written This
- By AR on 06-21-15
By: Walter Stahr
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James Madison
- By: Richard Brookhiser
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Eminent historian Richard Brookhiser presents a vivid portrait of James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution” and one of America's greatest statesmen.
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OK book but not a biography
- By Joel Mayer on 08-05-12
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The Lost Founding Father
- John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics
- By: William J. Cooper
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Why has John Quincy Adams been largely written out of American history when he is, in fact, our lost Founding Father? Overshadowed by both his brilliant father and the brash and bold Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams has long been dismissed as hyper-intellectual. Viciously assailed by Jackson and his populist mobs for being both slippery and effete, Adams nevertheless recovered from the malodorous 1828 presidential election to lead the nation as a lonely Massachusetts congressman in the fight against slavery.
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Edifying
- By Jean on 01-15-18
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Terrible book :( Incredibly TEDIOUS.
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Polk: One of our most important Preidents
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The Training Ground
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Nearly all of the Civil War's greatest soldiers - Grant, Lee, Sherman, Davis, and Jackson - were forged in the heat of the Mexican War. This is their story. At this fascinating juncture of American history, a group of young men came together to fight as friends - only, years later, to fight again as enemies.
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Excellent Story
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Worst. President. Ever.
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Intriguing
- By Jean on 01-14-17
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John Adams: A Life
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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.
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Excellent story, the narration ruined it for me
- By Benjamin on 04-09-19
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A Wicked War
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Rubbish Historical Work, Lots of Fake Stuff
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Terrible book :( Incredibly TEDIOUS.
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Polk: One of our most important Preidents
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The Training Ground
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Excellent Story
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Worst. President. Ever.
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- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Worst. President. Ever. flips the great presidential biography on its head, offering an enlightening - and highly entertaining - account of poor James Buchanan's presidency to prove once and for all that, well, few leaders could have done worse. But author Robert Strauss does much more, leading listeners out of Buchanan's terrible term in office to explore with insight and humor his own obsession with presidents, and ultimately the entire notion of ranking our presidents.
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Intriguing
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Excellent story, the narration ruined it for me
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Grant
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Splendid Biography Inspires New Respect for Grant
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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
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Henry Clay
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Charismatic, charming, and one of the best orators of his era, Henry Clay seemed to have it all. He offered a comprehensive plan of change for America, and he directed national affairs as Speaker of the House, as Secretary of State to John Quincy Adams - the man he put in office - and as acknowledged leader of the Whig party. As the broker of the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay fought to keep a young nation united when westward expansion and slavery threatened to tear it apart. Yet, despite his talent and achievements, Henry Clay never became president.
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Wonderful book by a talented writer and historian
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Impeached
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In 1868 Congress impeached President Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, the man who had succeeded the murdered Lincoln, bringing the nation to the brink of a second civil war. Enraged to see the freed slaves abandoned to brutal violence at the hands of their former owners, distraught that former rebels threatened to regain control of Southern state governments, and disgusted by Johnson's brawling political style, congressional Republicans seized on a legal technicality as the basis for impeachment - whether Johnson had the legal right to fire his own secretary of war, Edwin Stanton.
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Highly recommended
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By: David O. Stewart
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James Madison
- By: Richard Brookhiser
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Eminent historian Richard Brookhiser presents a vivid portrait of James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution” and one of America's greatest statesmen.
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OK book but not a biography
- By Joel Mayer on 08-05-12
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The Lost Founding Father
- John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics
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Overall
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Why has John Quincy Adams been largely written out of American history when he is, in fact, our lost Founding Father? Overshadowed by both his brilliant father and the brash and bold Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams has long been dismissed as hyper-intellectual. Viciously assailed by Jackson and his populist mobs for being both slippery and effete, Adams nevertheless recovered from the malodorous 1828 presidential election to lead the nation as a lonely Massachusetts congressman in the fight against slavery.
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Edifying
- By Jean on 01-15-18
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Founding Rivals
- Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election that Saved a Nation
- By: Chris DeRose
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1789, James Madison and James Monroe ran against each other for Congress-the only time that two future presidents have contested a congressional seat. But what was at stake, as author Chris DeRose reveals in Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election That Saved a Nation, was more than personal ambition. This was a race that determined the future of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the very definition of the United States of America.
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A Must for Anyone Interested in the Constitution
- By Garshom L. Arkoff on 07-09-13
By: Chris DeRose
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Madison's Gift
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Story
Short, plain, balding, neither soldier nor orator, low on charisma and high on intelligence, Madison cared more about achieving results than taking the credit. To reach his lifelong goal of a self-governing constitutional republic, he blended his talents with those of key partners. It was Madison who led the drive for the Constitutional Convention and pressed for an effective new government as his patron George Washington lent the effort legitimacy.
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Excellent history of our nation's founding
- By JJay on 02-23-15
By: David Stewart
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An Honest President
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Today Grover Cleveland is mainly remembered as the only president to be elected to two non-consecutive terms. But in his day, Cleveland was a renowned reformer, an enemy of political machines who joined forces with Theodore Roosevelt to fight powerful party bosses, a moralist who vetoed bills he considered blatant raids on the Treasury, a vigorous defender of the Monroe Doctrine who resisted American imperialism.
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grover deserves better
- By Gregory on 02-09-07
By: H. Paul Jeffers
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Mr. Jefferson's Hammer
- William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy
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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.
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Title = Truth in Advertising
- By William Jenks on 06-18-19
By: Robert M. Owens
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Adams vs. Jefferson
- The Tumultuous Election of 1800
- By: John Ferling
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Award-winning author John Ferling is a leading authority on the American Revolution. His entertaining and enlightening histories have greatly improved our understanding of early America and the Founding Fathers. Now Ferling opens a window to the past and explores the contentious presidential election of 1800.
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Outstanding work of interpretive history
- By D. Littman on 11-01-04
By: John Ferling
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The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
- By: Gordon S. Wood
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 24 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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This classic work explains the evolution of American political thought from the Declaration of Independence to the ratification of the Constitution. In so doing, it greatly illuminates the origins of the present American political system.
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This Audible book is NOT for a popular audience!
- By BigWally on 11-22-18
By: Gordon S. Wood
What listeners say about A Country of Vast Designs
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- James
- 06-20-10
A Decent Overview of Polk's Presidency
I initially started this book expecting it to be Polk's biography, but the book focuses almost exclusively on the events surrounding and during Polk's presidency. This is not a problem as the book is still fascinating, but readers should be aware of this before they purchase the book.
I would have given this book 4 stars except that it focuses way too much on the insignificant politics of Polk's presidency to the point where it almost seems like a giant episode of the West Wing involving characters to whom you feel no particular connection.
Overall, A Country of Vast Designs is a book worth reading for anyone interested in Polk's presidency or the politics of the Mexican American War.
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23 people found this helpful
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- duke ponick
- 01-25-16
An antidote to the poisoning of Polk's presidency
If you could sum up A Country of Vast Designs in three words, what would they be?
Geopolitics writ large.
What did you like best about this story?
A balanced, well-documented account of the Polk presidency and the forces that shaped it. Drawn in substantial part from Polk's somewhat obsessive and often self-serving diary, contemporary news accounts, and voluminous public papers and private correspondence, it affords a better insight into the tugs and pulls of the controversies surrounding his presidency. Most historians have found it obligatory to revile the 11th President whose major policies all received Congressional approval, Including "Polk's War"with Mexico.Americans generally have never been bashful about accepting the advantages of this war that turned us into a 2 ocean nation The book makes it clear why we can't lay all that at the door of Polk alone.
Which scene was your favorite?
The one showing how The Treaty of 1848 was negotiated by an envoy who had been recalled and was presumably without full authority to do so.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
The strength of a weak man
Any additional comments?
A very good book to listen to if you are interested in the nuts and bolts of historical events rather than partisan interpretation
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8 people found this helpful
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- Todd Gangl Usnik
- 06-12-12
History Repeats
The Polk administration oversaw the expansion of the US from sea to shining sea. An emerging power which faced multiple wars for at least 3 of the 4 years of the administration accomplished much while trying to keep the country from splintering apart over the issue of slavery. This book provides insight into the unique personalities which fashion much of modern America. You can also discern recurring themes which play out in each generation to include party politics -whether it's the Whigs and the Democrats or the the Republicans and the Democrats this book provides a solid frame of reference for the American Experience.
It's a great read.
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8 people found this helpful
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- George
- 04-01-13
It's a Hard Time to Understand
You can say Polk was a successful president for grabbing California (and the rest of the West) from a weak and disorganized Mexico. He also sorted out the Tariff issue, and the banking structures, something that had weighed on the country for several decades. Of course, there was the slavery issue, and Polk didn't feel that merited much discussion. Later on, well, there was a price to be paid for that. I associate the reader, Michael Prichard, with the Spenser series. He does so well with Spenser, I kept wondering if it would be possible for him to do serious history. In fact, he rarely sounds like Spenser, which suggests he is a really great reader. Polk set out to do what he wanted to do, and it basically killed him. We know huge problems could not be resolved, but we know California is a jewel. There are not many heroic people in this book, truth be told, and the level of ego is off the scale at every corner.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Lance Hutchinson
- 02-20-16
Excellent
Absorbing from start to finish. Polk faced controversies still being dealt with today. New respect for our eleventh president
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3 people found this helpful
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- CGreg
- 01-04-22
Merry is unable to provide a balanced view on Polk
I came into this biography knowing little about Polk other than his presidency oversaw a major expansion of the United States. I've listened to several presidential biographies and this one is definitely the worst. There's slim pickings when it comes to Polk biographies on audible, but I would not recommend this one for a few reasons:
Merry tries way too hard to counter what he sees as a negative revisionist history on Polk's presidency which causes him to make bizarre justifications for problematic Polk actions. One instance is when he walks through a wonky train of logic concluding in Polk being justified to force out Francis Blair as editor of the Globe newspaper because he didn't like how the Globe was treating his agenda. The Globe was the mouthpiece of Jackson's presidency, but was unfriendly to Polk. Polk could have just declared a difference newspaper to represent his administration's views, but instead, Merry argues that because Blair was presenting a rival view of Democratic policy and harming unity around Polk's agenda, Polk was right to force him out of the paper. Lol wut?
Throughout the biography, there's no balance to any of Polk's historical rivals or counter ideas - The bank of the United States was unequivocally bad and Polk was right to support Andrew Jackson's unjustified seizure of its deposits, the Wilmont Proviso was just a nefarious Whig wrench in Polks grand plan that had no merit or relevance to the new territory being acquired (when it obviously did), etc. He even calls Van Buren becoming publicly anti-slavery one of the biggest political about-faces in history - as if everyone at the time is fine with slavery and only uses abolition to sow disunion. Sure, that's how the SOUTH saw it, but Merry consistently uses language that portrays abolitionists and other opponents broadly (and not just to Polk or southern democrats) as simply being troublemakers that should stay quiet and assuage the south to maintain national unity (on the south's terms, of course).
Finally, he justifies Polk's expansionist aims with a "she was wearing revealing clothes so she asked for it" kind of logic - Mexico was weak and incompetent so they deserved to be conquered by America. Gross.
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- California Guy
- 03-23-19
A fair, balanced and well written story
I have long been an admirer of Polk. He is largely forgotten by the general public, including by people who live in the part of the country that he was responsible for adding to the U.S. This book bases its conclusions on the evidence, rather than the mass of biases that rules most Polk/Mexican War writers. Polk was an eminently successful president, and should be appreciated on the basis of his accomplishments, and should be viewed through the lens of his times.
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- Douglas
- 03-03-18
Fantastic History of Important, Lesser Known Prez
I thought this book might be difficult to get through but it was exactly the opposite. I might have finished this book in just a few days, but at some point I decided to stop and read a book on the Texas revolution before continuing. Since I know almost nothing about that subject I felt like I might be missing some things, as Texas is such an important part of Polk's presidency.
The narrator is fine. You definitely won't forget that he's the narrator and not the author, but he is actually perfect for the author's style. Robert Merry has uses that old school political/historical language.
The book is very detailed. Merry does a fair job of keeping the narrative interesting during points where it might have become dry and repetitive.
One thing I will always remember about this book is the way that I found myself sympathizing not only with Polk, but also with Andrew Jackson, Polk's mentor, and an American historical figure that I had always found repellent. It is strange how one can begin to unconsciously side with the subject of a work, even if it isn't present from their viewpoint or with any tone of bias. Perhaps this is something that affects me as a reader more than other people, but I suspect it's universal.
The author shows almost no bias or personal judgment throughout the book. In the wrap up the author defends Polk a bit against critics. Polk--while often vilified by critics--is considered just below the great level by serious fair-minded historians.
Something I really appreciated about this book was that Merry did not describe the narrative through the lens of the modern western world. That is so common today and is totally useless. It's important to look at past events in the light of contemporary thought at that time.
An example I like to use is that of Abraham Lincoln. We know that Lincoln did as much as any American to end slavery. Is it important to recount that he felt whites were superior to blacks? Yes. Absolutely, and everyone should learn that. But does it make sense to judge Lincoln by the social standards of 2018? Of course not. We have to judge him compared to the other men of his age. Merry allows us to judge Polk in this way, and that is refreshing.
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- James
- 06-28-15
Great read
I had no idea how important this president was. Glad to know now. Thanks audible.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-25-24
Good story
I am from Texas nice to learn how we are admitted as a state and a good story telling with the background needed
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