• 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
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (521 ratings)

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A Country of Vast Designs

By: Robert W. Merry
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
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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.

©2009 Robert Merry (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“A compelling, perceptive portrait of one of the oddest men ever to occupy the White House.” ( The Wall Street Journal)
"A crucial architect of modern America, James K. Polk deserves to be elevated out of the mists of history. In this engaging book, Robert Merry does just that, recapturing the passions and personalities of a forgotten era in American life." (Jon Meacham, author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House)
"Polk was our most underrated president. He made the United States into a continental nation. Bob Merry captures the controversial and the visionary aspects of his presidency in a colorful narrative populated by great characters such as Jackson, Clay, and Van Buren." (Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe)

What listeners say about A Country of Vast Designs

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Absorbing from start to finish. Polk faced controversies still being dealt with today. New respect for our eleventh president

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

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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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great read

I had no idea how important this president was. Glad to know now. Thanks audible.

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    5 out of 5 stars

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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