Walter R. Borneman is the author of several books, including Polk, 1812: The War That Forged a Nation, The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America, and Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land. He is the president of the Walter V. and Idun Y. Berry Foundation, which funds postdoctoral fellowships in children’s health at Stanford University.
“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
Borneman (1812: The War That Forged a Nation) presents a birth-death biography of Polk, albeit one leaving readers wishing there were more details of his subject's early life. About half of the book dwells on the presidency of a man who resolved from the start to serve only one term. Yet Polk exerted tremendous influence over the nation's path between 1845 and 1849. Borneman soundly argues that Polk was not the dark horse candidate so often portrayed but Andrew Jackson's protege who met his primary objectives for his administration: reduce the tariff, create an independent federal Treasury, and bring in Oregon and California. Borneman contends that Polk was the most assertive president up until Lincoln, especially regarding the Mexican War, which Polk used to further his aim of adding to U.S. territory. The major battles in Mexico are covered, of interest to military history buffs. Borneman has a pleasing style and makes fine use of primary sources that all demonstrate why Polk is habitually ranked as one of the ten best presidents by historians. More detailed and extensive than John Seigenthaler's entry in the presidential series from Times Books, this is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.-Bryan Craig, MLS, Nellysford, VA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
"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
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