JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with GROVER CLEVELAND.]--The American Presidents series of brief biographies of all 42 presidents is a perfect audiobook size and length. Each individual biography offers a wealth of information about the period in which it's set and about the American presidency in general, and nowhere is that value better evident than in the biographies of minor or second-tier presidents like Adams and Cleveland. Adams ushered in the age of westward expansion but was politically ineffectual, serving only one term. Cleveland stood for honesty in government just as industrial capitalism was reaching its zenith. This excellent series of biographies, each written by an eminent historian, is a rich and rewarding listening experience. Ira Claffey's brisk, unapologetic tone strikes the proper measure for the politics, initiatives, and setbacks of a failed administration--keeping plain their significance to the times and to the evolution of American government. D.A.W. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]