John Quincy Adams (Profiles of the Presidents)

Rating:
Summary: A superb introductory John Quincy Admas juvenile biography
Review: The Profiles of the Presidents series is a superb collection of introductory juvenile biographies for young students, which I think is around the halfway mark in terms of covering everyone from Washington to Bush the Younger. Ironically, it is because of the current resident of the White House that John Quincy Adams has received more attention in recent years. After all, the parallels are extraordinary: both men are the only sons of Presidents to be elected to the office, they both have the same first name but different middle names, and they both lost the popular vote in their first election. Will the parallel continue in 2004? Well, no: because while every other President who was elected with less of the popular vote lost their bid for re-election they both (John Quincy Adams and Benjamin Harrison) lost in rematches with the opponents who won the popular vote (Andrew Jackson and Grover Cleveland) and that is not going to happen this time because Al Gore did "Saturday Night Live" and disappeared into the sunset.

Michael Burgan begins this book by establishing the idea that the story of John Quincy Adams is that of "A Lifetime of Service." Where Adams is most unique is that there he continued to serve his country after his four difficult years in the White House, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and becoming known as "Old Man Eloquent" for his attacks on slavery (touched on in Steven Spielberg's film "Amistad"). Burgan deals with the problems of being the son of a President but also goes into detail on the extraordinary diplomat career both abroad and at home. The end result is the inevitable conclusion that even if he had not been elected President the life and political career of John Quincy Adams should be remembered.

In addition to the concise but detailed biography, this volume is profusely illustrated with historic etchings, paintings, and maps. Even when the illustrations are black & white they often end up with colored frames, showing the premium placed by the editors on having an eye-catching book. In the back of the book you will find a glossary, fast facts about Adams, a parallel timeline of world and presidential events, extensive resources to help young students better understand the life and times of this particular president, and a decent index. The Profiles of the Presidents series is excellent and Michael Burgan's look at "John Quincy Adams" is one of the best to date.