Extraordinary Tenure: Massachusetts and the Making of the Nation

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Summary: Kennedy, O'Neill, Adams and Adams, to Name Just a Few
Review: John F. Kennedy, Thomas P. O'Neill, John Adams, John Quincy Adams. Massachusetts public servants who have held high Federal offices are the characters that we get to know in this lively historical chronicle.

Neil J. Savage is a master story teller and writer. Extraordinary Tenure gives us highly-readable accounts of the fascinating people from Massachusetts who have held office as presidents, cabinet members, and Supreme Court justices, and other leading positions in our nation's history. Some were heroes; some were knaves. We learn of the best and the worst in this timely volume for the general reader.

The historical sketches here are concise, informative and often witty. One of the great strengths of the book is the context of the historical controversies brewing at the time of each leader's
service. The portrait of John Quincy Adams, for example, gives an insightful description of the slavery and secession struggles that were beginning to tear apart our country in the 1840's

If you demand obtuse academic babble, this book is not for you. If you're a reader with a curiosity about the real-life characters who led our nation in its first two hundred years, this book is for you. History should always be so enjoyable and informative.