A Serious Character

John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life, by Paul C. Nagel (Knopf, 448 pp., $30)

PAUL C. Nagel has spent half a career writing about the Adams family. His latest book, a biography of John Quincy Adams, is perhaps the best of the lot. Although he set out to explore the “inner J. Q. Adams,” and even consulted a psychiatrist during his research, this book displays few of the psychological excesses of his earlier works. Instead it details one of the most fascinating careers in American history in a straightforward manner, emphasizing Adams’s own thoughts and deeds.

RS

About the Author

Richard Samuelson

Richard Samuelson is an associate professor of history at California State University, San Bernardino.

Featured Tags

John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life, by Paul C. Nagel (Knopf, 448 pp., $30)

PAUL C. Nagel has spent half a career writing about the Adams family. His latest book, a biography of John Quincy Adams, is perhaps the best of the lot. Although he set out to explore the “inner J. Q. Adams,” and even consulted a psychiatrist during his research, this book displays few of the psychological excesses of his earlier works. Instead it details one of the most fascinating careers in American history in a straightforward manner, emphasizing Adams’s own thoughts and deeds.