A quick and enthusiastic, if not rose-tinted, biography of a man who (in my mind, at least) has been overshadowed by more illustrious names from the American Revolution. The portions of the book spent on Monroe's presidency itself feel a bit scant, but otherwise this is an engaging and interesting book about an American badass.

3.5

Interesting at times, but found the author untrustworthy

The biggest downfall of this book is the author's inability to remain objective. Monroe's faults are brushed over as though he had none.

That being said, I like the attention given to Monroe's relationship with his wife and daughters, and the many deep friendships that would eventually lead to Monroe's presidency. The parallels drawn between Washington and Monroe are also interesting.

Before reading this book, I knew Monroe was an oft-overlooked early president in our nation’s history. And after reading it, I can say that perhaps Monroe should be given more thought than Madison, but certainly none more Washington, Adams, of Jefferson. In that way, Unger failed to convince me that Monroe is wrongly canonized in history. On the chessboard of history, Monroe seems like perhaps a valuable rook to Washington and others’ more coveted kings, queens, and knights.

Monroe’s service to his country started early on, with his impressive performance in the Revolutionary War. Rising through the ranks of the Virginia legislature, Monroe jumped back and forth from politician to ambassador to private lawyer, never able to keep his finances in order — as many a man of the time, he was land rich and cash poor. Like Jefferson and Adams, he was key to establishing friendly relations with Britain and France in some of their most tumultuous times and was also central in getting the Louisiana Purchase through (for the latter, he does seem to deserve more credit).

But Unger fails to really examine Monroe with as critical eye as you’d hope. Monroe’s personal slaves are rarely mentioned, and his role in the territorial expansion of the American empire in Florida seems to need another examination. The author, however, seems more interested in dunking on the failures of his predecessor, Madison, than actually exposing or dissecting Monroe’s own flaws. To Unger, Monroe’s biggest flaw was his pride and patriotism, which left him broke most his life — that, however, is similar to saying your biggest flaw is caring too much.

Certainly, Monroe deserves a place in history, for his role in the early Republic and his leadership in guiding the nation through prosperity and “good feelings,” keeping the U.S. out of war and helping establish the modern empire through the famous Monroe Doctrine. As someone purely interested in American history, you’d be wise to read more about Monroe, who, given his relation to so many events — the Revolutionary War, the Louisiana Purchase, the Adams-Onis Treaty, and opening of the West, the French Revolution, the War of 1812 and the burning of the Capitol — was a bit of a Forrest Gump of early American History.

Monroe’s ideals also seem to be as universal as the rest of the Founding Fathers, with a passion for liberty, independence, equality, social order, expansion, prosperity, and unity. He so sought unity and order that he surrounded himself with a diverse cabinet, representing different views and regions of the country, and wished to see the elimination of the political party (something he partly achieved; though, obviously, it was short-lived). Overall, Monroe represented the early American ideal, having served as a successful soldier and politician, ultimately helping America through its first trials and establishing it, through his doctrine, as a power not to be messed with by foreign entities.

Perhaps Monroe is a poor man’s Jefferson, snubbed by history for being various versions of other founding fathers, always failing to establish himself as a more independent entity. He seems like a more competent Madison, more likeable leader than Adams, a more humanized version of Washington. Taken altogether, Monroe may be proof that presiding over an era of good feelings without war is an easy way to be cast aside an important footnote of history, deserving of respect, certainly, though maybe not study.

A solid read, even if I feel asleep on it a few times (to be fair I read right before bed), and even if the author bordered on fanboyism at times.

FIRST LINE REVIEW: "'You infernal scoundrel,' Crawford shook his cane menacingly at the president." An appropriate first line for this highly readable and engaging biography of our 5th president. Full of excitement as it recounts a career that certainly must rank as one of the most diverse, frustrating, dangerous and positive careers of any American president, Unger's bio does a good job of helping the reader see the man who was Monroe; although I must also accuse him of too much hero-worshipping. Unger tends toward absolutism at times: Monroe's wife, Elizabeth, was "the most beautiful" of First Ladies, for example. Really? How does one prove that?? Anyway, a good choice for my march through presidential biographies!