For the 250th anniversary of John Quincy Adams's birth, a landmark new edition of an American masterpiece- the incomparable self-portrait of a man and his times from the Revolution to the coming of the Civil War.
John Quincy Adams (1767 -1848) was one of the most experiencedand
well-traveled American statesmen of his era. Before becoming the
sixthpresident of the United States in 1825, he had served as a
diplomat in theNetherlands, Prussia, Russia, and England, and had
led the American commissionthat negotiated the Treaty of Ghent,
ending the War of 1812. After the last of hisEuropean posts he
served as Secretary of State under James Monroe, and was
theprincipal architect of the Monroe Doctrine. After his
presidency, Adams waselected to represent southeastern
Massachusetts in the U.S. House ofRepresentatives, serving for the
remainder of his life, until his fatal collapse at hisCongressional
desk.
David Waldstreicher is Distinguished Professor of History at the
GraduateCenter, City University of New York, and the author of
Slavery's Constitution- FromRevolution to Ratification (2009);
Runaway America- Benjamin Franklin, Slavery and theAmerican
Revolution (2004); and In the Midst of Perpetual Fetes- The Making
of AmericanNationalism, 1776-1820 (1997). As editor, his books
include A Companion to John Adamsand John Quincy Adams (2013).
"A superb edition that should secure a place for the diary in the
canon of American literature. . . . The inner life of John Quincy
Adams has been until now mostly a secret. One of the gifts of the
new edition is to give us a glimpse into his heart." --Andrew
Delbanco, The New York Review of Books
"JQA is a masterly diarist. . . . [This] will be the
standard reader’s edition of this masterpiece, which gives an
account of both a fascinating life and a thrilling, disastrous
period of American history."
--Richard Brookhiser, The Wall Street Journal
"The latest entry in the prestigious Library of America collection
is a distinct treat, something long overdue for an attractive,
accessible edition. . . . Readers don't encounter mere bare memos
of events -- they're again and again immersed in well-drawn scenes
and vivid personalities. Adams displays a dramatist's ear not only
for dialogue but also for pacing. . . . It's an astonishing
sustained performance. . . . Reading these entries for hours on end
is spellbinding."
--The Christian Science Monitor
"One of the greatest of American diaries by one of America's
greatest statesmen."
--Gordon S. Wood, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The
Radicalism of the American Revolution
"There is no figure in American history like John Quincy Adams, a
lawyer, scholar, poet, and statesman of boundless energy and
vision. And in the annals of American history there is nothing
comparable to his diaries, both as the lifetime record of a
turbulent era and its people, and as a revealing portrait of an
extraordinary man and his famous family. Based upon the
original manuscript volumes, and including scores of passages
suppressed in earlier editions, this Library of America
edition restores a national treasure in all its richness and
surprising passion."
--Edith B. Gelles, author of Abigail & John: Portrait of a
Marriage
"The candid diary of John Quincy Adams records the day-to-day
insights, hopes, passions, and frustrations of one
of America's wisest and most courageous patriots. Spanning
almost seventy years, it addresses issues as varied as
foreign policy, civil liberties, gender equality, and
government aid for science, but especially the scourge of slavery,
which Adams foresaw would rend the Union he worked so hard to
build up. The Library of America here makes available an
unparalleled resource for the study of our nation's politics,
history, and enduring values."
--Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What
Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848
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