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Martin Van Buren
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
512 pages, Paperback
First published June 13, 1899
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 13, 2013
There aren't a lot of Van Buren biographies. Shepard does a decent job of plugging in the gaps, if also showing why biographers aren't lining up to cover the eighth president.
Shepard likes Van Buren. His affection is the linchpin of his book, which is capped off with a straightforward character defense. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be much to defend against.
What Shepard does well is to capture Van Buren as the first politician president. From Washington's pseudo-royal patricianism to Adams' passionate patriotism and Jackson's roughshod individualism, Van Buren is a complete restructuring of the mold. Here at last is the modern career politician. You can easily see Van Buren kissing babies, gladhanding donors and thumbs-upping the cheering crowds; the feel is startlingly contemporary.
The prose revealing this is anything but. I hate disapproving of a book on such minor points as style, but Shepard's is hard to ignore. He writes firmly in the old academic school of using three words where one will suffice, and making sure those words are ten-dollar ones. This is bearable when the subject is the jovial Van Buren, but when applied to more complex issues of politics and ideologies, it's almost insufferable; not just dull, but difficult to follow. Van Buren's blithe good nature simply remains unflappable despite whatever criticism is thrown his way; at times Shepard seems content to let Van Buren and his opposition bounce off of one another without analyzing the deeper issues at hand. At other times, however (usually when Van Buren is not on the scene) the issues do come alive; notably the slavery issue and the coming of the Civil War.
These insights come like bursts of sunlight through a tangled thicket; and you do a lot of sifting for what you glean. But when the options are as limited as they are for a Van Buren biography, I felt content to wade through the brambles.
Shepard likes Van Buren. His affection is the linchpin of his book, which is capped off with a straightforward character defense. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be much to defend against.
What Shepard does well is to capture Van Buren as the first politician president. From Washington's pseudo-royal patricianism to Adams' passionate patriotism and Jackson's roughshod individualism, Van Buren is a complete restructuring of the mold. Here at last is the modern career politician. You can easily see Van Buren kissing babies, gladhanding donors and thumbs-upping the cheering crowds; the feel is startlingly contemporary.
The prose revealing this is anything but. I hate disapproving of a book on such minor points as style, but Shepard's is hard to ignore. He writes firmly in the old academic school of using three words where one will suffice, and making sure those words are ten-dollar ones. This is bearable when the subject is the jovial Van Buren, but when applied to more complex issues of politics and ideologies, it's almost insufferable; not just dull, but difficult to follow. Van Buren's blithe good nature simply remains unflappable despite whatever criticism is thrown his way; at times Shepard seems content to let Van Buren and his opposition bounce off of one another without analyzing the deeper issues at hand. At other times, however (usually when Van Buren is not on the scene) the issues do come alive; notably the slavery issue and the coming of the Civil War.
These insights come like bursts of sunlight through a tangled thicket; and you do a lot of sifting for what you glean. But when the options are as limited as they are for a Van Buren biography, I felt content to wade through the brambles.
November 18, 2020
Long and slow. Some interesting facts about the 8th president but not a page turner...
January 2, 2016
Partisan presentation
If you want a biographical study from an earlier time, this is good. It shows how the Jackson era parted intentionally from founders in their view of popular sovereignty. It also shows the failure to deal humanely with westward expansion. The need to expel European influence to have peace is understandable. Of course, the reluctance to deal respectfully with native Americans is not. Limited government came to be code for protecting slavery. Van Buren derived his perspective from Jackson. He went back on his free soil anti slavery candidacy supporting democrat policies of expanding slavery. He did end his life in NY, supporting Lincoln.
If you want a biographical study from an earlier time, this is good. It shows how the Jackson era parted intentionally from founders in their view of popular sovereignty. It also shows the failure to deal humanely with westward expansion. The need to expel European influence to have peace is understandable. Of course, the reluctance to deal respectfully with native Americans is not. Limited government came to be code for protecting slavery. Van Buren derived his perspective from Jackson. He went back on his free soil anti slavery candidacy supporting democrat policies of expanding slavery. He did end his life in NY, supporting Lincoln.
February 24, 2017
Well, to be honest, I never finished this book. I read a bit over half of it and gave up. It's the kind of writing that gives history a bad name. To be fair, it was written a long time ago and the historical writers of today have learned a lot about how to communicate, in context, the events of the past. Anyway I need a break and am going to try some nonfiction for a change to try to get my mojo back.
April 29, 2008
This book was published in 1892 so it wasn't too far from the presidency of Van Buren. There were many similarities in the 'problems' of the country as there are today. Van Buren was a great politician. He held to what he believed were truths the country needed. Sometimes he was popular and sometimes he wasn't. With my limited vocabulary I did have to read it with a dictionary.
September 24, 2008
Originally written in 1888, this book is well-written and informative. Unfortunately, the author presumed his audience had a more thorough knowledge and understanding of 19th-century history and politics than the average 21st-century reader is likely to possess. I'd recommend reading this book in conjunction with a more recently written history of the period.
August 3, 2010
Very few books about Van Buren, but this one seemed fair. Could have used more info when he was actually president, and more primary documents and words of Van Buren. Certainly not in depth but okay for what is out there.
March 23, 2016
Written in the late 19th century by a big fan of MVB, this book was nevertheless informative and increased my appreciation of Martin Van Buren.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews