Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America | Walter R. Borneman

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America | Walter R. Borneman | Superb Biography of Polk

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Polk: The Man Who ...

	Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America Walter R. Borneman Random House, 2008 - 448 pages average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

In Polk, Walter R. Borneman gives us the first complete and authoritative biography of a president often overshadowed in image but seldom outdone in accomplishment.

James K. Polk occupied the White House for only four years, from 1845 to 1849, but he is rightly recognized as the last strong pre-Civil War president. His pledge to serve a single term, which many thought would immediately consign him to lame-duck status, enabled Polk to rise above electoral politics and to outflank his adversaries.

Thus Polk plotted and attained a formidable agenda: He fought for and won tariff reductions, reestablished an independent Treasury, and most notably, brought Texas into the Union, bluffed Great Britain out of the lion?s share of Oregon, and wrested California and much of the Southwest from Mexico. On reflection, these successes seem even more impressive, given the contentious political environment of the time.

In tracing Polk?s life and career?his early childhood in a prominent frontier family, his meteoric rise in public office and storied turn in the House of Representatives, the dramatic plunge of his career fortunes early in the post-Jacksonian period, and his political rebirth prior to the 1844 campaign season?Borneman dispels conventional views of Polk as a dark horse or an accidental president. Instead, we see Polk as he was?a decisive, if not partisan, statesman whose near doubling of America?s boundaries and expansive broadening of executive powers redefined the country at large, as well as the nature of its highest office.

Along with Polk, this is also the story of Andrew Jackson, Polk?s longtime political patron; Henry Clay, Polk?s ambitious rival; ex-president Martin Van Buren, who lusted to return to the White House; Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, who shared Polk?s commitment to territorial expansion but came to quarrel with him over the means; Polk?s fellow Tennessee politicos Davy Crockett and Sam Houston; and a principled young Whig from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln, who goaded Polk about misleading the nation into war with Mexico.

Proving the eternal truth of the adage ?The more things change, the more they stay the same,? especially in terms of presidential politics, Borneman also provides engrossing blow-by-blow tales of punishing campaigns, audacious third-party spoilers, and the often comical lengths political fixers will go to reach a highly fickle electorate.

In this unprecedented, long-overdue warts-and-all biography, we are reminded anew of the true meaning of presidential accomplishment and resolve.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

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James K. Polk - An Underappreciated President

James K. Polk always shows up on the best Presidents' list along with the obvious Washingtons, Jeffersons, Lincolns, etc. Mr. Borneman delineates why this is the case, in a clear, concise writing style, and illuminates both Polk's personal and political life. This book is a must-read, not only for would-be historians, but also for people like me, who had never had a complete understanding about this important period in American history.

Superb Biography of Polk

As the book's subtitle suggests, this is an account of a President who had an enormous impact on the contiguous 48 states. He was a brilliant visionary and leader. The author has done an excellent job of research and tied it all together into an enjoyable, fascinating account of a critical period in US history.

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Obscurity and Greatness

James K Polk was barely a generation removed from our Founding Fathers when it is taken into account that he was mentored by Andrew Jackson and had John Quincy Adams in the House of Representatives during his Presidency.

When one considers that Abraham Lincoln also served in the House during his Presidency, and Ulysses S. Grant served in his army, the shadow that Polk cast over 19th century politics becomes huge.

Conventional wisdom has been that between Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, there was a tremendous vacuum of Presidential leadership. This book moves a long way toward debunking this notion. In fact, James Polk is arguably the greatest one-term President this country has seen.

Rarely has a President moved into this position with such a clear and well defined set of objectives and stayed so focused on carrying them out.

Polk's continuation of Manifest Destiny, and his no holds barred tactics of achieving land expansion puts him in a pantheon and league with the few Presidents who have achieved greatness in their tenures. When we now look at our map, it has Polk's clear stamp on it.

This book must have been difficult for the author to write, in that there was little written about Polk, in light of the Civil War, and his story has been lost to obscurity. In that he has been deceased for 160 years, there are few sources to get an accurate gauge of his personality, or his actions, other than what is recorded.

Still, this book brings him to life, and paints a clear picture of the political times.

For the afficionado of the Presidency, and its inhabitants, it is a must read story.

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Polk: The Man Who Transformed Presidency and America

This book was well-written and easy to read. The subject was engrossing, so it was hard to put down. He did this all without demonstrating political prejudice, too. I will read it again.

Less of a biography than a survey of the times

While I would recommend "Polk" to all fans of the period I would caution that it seems to lack a little in the life of the man. While I doubt that this is the fault of the biographer since outside of his presidential diary - Polk did not leave a large written record. Borneman deicated less than 20 pages to Polk's early life, and hardly mentions his times growing up in Pineville, N.C. - my question is this because there is little known or was it left out to help the book flow?

Having mentioned this fault, I do find the book to be both readable and entertaining. In fact, Broneman has written one of the best political accounts of the turmaoil that lasted between the end of Jackson's term and the end of Polk's.

My final tally - if you are looking for a biography that is an equal of "John Adams" you may be disappoined, but if you are looking for an interesting overview of the 1830's and 1840's.. you probably have found the very best possible book!

Score "B+"

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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