The American Presidents Series

AMERICAN PRESIDENTS SERIES. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., gen. ed. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Louis Auchincloss. 2001/2002. 3 tapes. 4 hrs. $23.95. 1-55927-738-6. JAMES MADISON. Garry Wills. 4 tapes. 6 hrs. $25.95. 1-55927-737-8. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. Robert V. Remini. 2002. 4 tapes. 6 hrs. $25.95. 1-55927-739-4. GROVER CLEVELAND. Henry F. Graft. 2002.4 tapes. 6 hrs. $25.95. 1-55927-736-x. Reed by Ira Claffey. Audio Renaissance Audio. Cardboard; content notes. SA

These four titles are part of a 21-book series on American presidents. Editor Schlesinger writes that each volume offers a "distillation of character and career," along with a message of citizen responsibility that the buck stops in the voting booth. The audiobooks are remarkable for the details of personal lives, personalities, and political maneuvering, both petty and monumental, packed into each compact work. Claffey's reading is so skilled in projecting character and nuance that one might well choose the audio over the printed version.

Roosevelt goes from sickly child to vigorous adult--big game hunter, trust buster, courageous soldier. Of the legendary charge of Roosevelt and his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill, a friend wrote, "No hunting trip so far has ever equaled it in Theodore's eyes." Madison's analysis as he worked on the Constitution remains brilliant in today's reading. He was often tangled in personnel problems and bogged down by indecision. Adams struggled with tariffs, removal of Indians from land in the east (part of the debate assumed extinction), and invective from powerful critics. Cleveland had the White House wedding, the debate over the gold standard, and the idea that he could make merit the basis for government employment. His two terms were separated by the presidency of Benjamin Harrison, which figures prominently in this book. Vivian Berg, Mandan, ND

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