Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America [Hardcover]

Walter R. Borneman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 2008

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 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 this unprecedented, long-overdue warts-and-all look at Polk’s life and career, we have a portrait of an expansionist president and decisive statesman who redefined the country he led, and we are reminded anew of the true meaning of presidential accomplishment and resolve.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tennessee Democrat James K. Polk is generally ranked among the nation's most effective chief executives. In this straightforward, unnuanced biography, Borneman (1812: The War That Forged a Nation) relates why. Coming into office determined to annex Texas, gain the Oregon Territory from Britain, lower the tariff and reform the national banking system, Polk achieved all four aims in his single term in office (1845–1849). But Borneman overlooks that in more or less completing the nation's lower continental territory, Polk bequeathed a fateful legacy to the nation-not so much transforming the U.S. (as the subtitle overstates) as setting it on the road to civil war. With the annexation of Texas came war with Mexico, which stripped that nation of half its lands while gaining the U.S. the southwest and California. It also unloosed the mad genie of slavery's possible further spread westward. Polk left the nation larger but politically crippled and morally weakened. But Borneman sticks to the narrative and doesn't place his subject in a larger historical context. 'Tis a pity, for Polk's administration ought to be a lesson to all candidates and all presidents at all times. 16 maps. (Apr. 8)
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Review

“A terrific portrait of a man and his times.”—Jon Meacham, author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston

“For quite a while we’ve needed a new biography of James K. Polk–America’s great underrated president. Now, at last, Walter R. Borneman has delivered the goods. This book is both well written and diligently researched. Highly recommended!” –Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University, author of The Great Deluge

“Borneman gives us a book that is full of interest and insight and is a pleasure to read.”—Robert Middlekauff, Bancroft Prize-winning author of The Glorious Cause

“[An] informed and readable biography.” —Wall Street Journal

“Borneman is a trailblazer in the mold of his subject [and has produced] a volume that can stand with all but the very best presidential biographies.”—Louisville Courier-Journal

“With impressive exuberance . . . Borneman rightly describes his subject as America’s greatest expansionist president.”—Austin American Statesman

“Borneman manages to pull [many] threads together into a comprehensible and entertaining narrative. . . . [His] biography gives Polk his due.”—Rocky Mountain News



From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Random House (April 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400065607
• ISBN-13: 978-1400065608
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #469,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter R. Borneman writes about American military and political history and western expansion. His latest book, Rival Rails: The Race to Build America's Greatest Transcontinental Railroad, chronicles half a century of railroad expansion across the American Southwest. Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America (Random House, 2008), won the Tennessee History Book Award and the Colorado Book Award for Biography.

Borneman is best-known in Colorado's mountains as the co-author of A Climbing Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners (Pruett, 1978), the history and standard routes of Colorado's 54 peaks above 14,000 feet, which was in-print for twenty-five years. His collaboration with photographer Todd Caudle, 14,000 Feet: A Celebration of Colorado's Highest Mountains, won the 2005 Colorado Book Award for Pictorial.

QUOTE: My overriding goal in writing history has been to get the facts straight and then present them in a readable fashion. I am convinced that knowing history is not just about appreciating the past, but also about understanding the present and planning for the future.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first Imperial Presidency, May 24, 2008

By 

Jonathan R. Nelson "Jon from Madison" (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America (Hardcover)

Overall an interesting and well-written book on the political life of President James K. Polk. The primary focus of the book and Polk's presidency was foreign policy, specifically the expansion of the United States, both through shrewd negotiation and gamesmanship (with Great Britain to acquire the Oregon Territory) and a dubious, but ultimately successful war to acquire the territory from Texas to the Pacific Ocean (the Mexican War). Borneman makes a good case that Polk was one of our most successful and significant presidents, but I would have liked to learn more about Polk the man beyond the fact that he was often in poor health and was a micro-manager. I would also have liked more about First Lady Sarah Polk. Besides Polk, the book also introduces the reader to an interesting cast of supporting players such as President John Tyler, Polk's ever-changeable Secretary of State James Buchanan, and the pompous and self-serving Gideon Pillow. One final quibble: Maybe this is just me, but I found Borneman's habit of referring to people by their nicknames ("Old Hickory", "Red Fox", "Old Rough and Ready", etc.) kind of irritating, but still a good read.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Underrated President, June 17, 2008

By 

Eric Mayforth (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America (Hardcover)

This biography recounts the life of James K. Polk, our eleventh president and the strongest president in the quarter-century between the presidencies of Jackson and Lincoln.

Polk was Andrew Jackson's protégé, and the book traces Polk's path through the House of Representatives to the Tennessee governorship. In the cliffhanger election of 1844, Polk became the youngest elected president to that point in American history. Polk served as chief executive during a time when railroads and the telegraph were rapidly changing America, when there was lively debate over westward expansion, when the conflict over slavery was slowly heating up, and when settlers were heading west on the Oregon Trail.

The book demonstrates how American politics of the 1840s had many similarities to the politics of today. Then as now, politicians jockeyed for their party's presidential nomination years in advance, there were third-party spoilers, and there were even campaign biographies of the candidates published in the presidential election year. Polk's experience also shows that the presidency had already become a taxing, all-consuming job even by middle of the nineteenth century.

The book outlines the border disputes and negotiations with Britain and Mexico concerning Oregon and the Southwest--had some of the negotiations turned out differently, our country's total land area could have been much larger or much smaller than it is today. Polk also wanted to purchase Cuba from Spain.

A brief history of the Mexican War is included, and the book relates how during this period the power to declare war migrated from Congress (where it had been during the War of 1812) to the presidency.

Polk's legacy is marred by his position on slavery, but his territorial acquisitions make him one of the most consequential presidents of the nineteenth century.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Less of a biography than a survey of the times, July 16, 2008

By 

Charles Evans "Call me Kevin" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America (Hardcover)

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+"