New titles in the ABC-CLIO Biographical Companions series, these volumes offers the user a wealth of information on two U.S. presidents, one an icon and the other relatively unknown and underappreciated.
"The first encyclopedic work devoted exclusively to Washington" surveys Washington's personal life, family, business dealings, and correspondents as well as his roles as military leader and president. Most of the alphabetically arranged entries cover three categories of information: people (Jefferson, Thomas; Lafayette; Washington, Mary Ball ); events (Boston, siege of; Whiskey Rebellion; Yorktown, battle of ); and interests (Balloons; James River Company; Last will and testament ). Many entries are three or four pages long, allowing fairly detailed treatment. All conclude with cross-references and suggestions for further reading that are primary materials. Following the A-Z entries are selections from Washington's writings; a chronology; lists of family connections, "military family members," and principal executive officers during Washington's presidency; and a bibliography.
The Polk volume is similarly arranged. Following A-Z entries covering people, events, and concepts important to understanding Polk's life and times, there are selected primary documents, a chronology, a bibliography, and an index. The researcher can better comprehend Polk's personality, political acumen, and accomplishments after reading entries such as Assassination threats; Boyhood and early education; Cuba; Dueling; Friends; Health; Polk, Sarah Childress; Smithsonian Institution; and Wilmot Proviso as well as those describing significant historical figures of the times. Each entry is followed by see also references and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Younger researchers might have benefited from annotations of both the primary documents and the general bibliographies in the two volumes. Black-and-white illustrations and color portraits on the front covers further enhance the works, which should prove helpful to anyone interested in these presidents or the periods during which they lived and served. Recommended for high-school, public, and academic libraries. RBB
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Book Description
Who is James K. Polk? The Whigs asked that question in 1844, when they heard that the Democrats had nominated him for president. Today, even with the benefit of more than a century of historical study and analysis, Americans still know little about a man whom scholars rank as one of our most successful presidents.
