Martin Van Buren

Examines the life of the lawyer politician who became the eighth president of the United States and led the country through its first serious depression.

Marun Van Buren made his reputation as a shrewd politician in Albany, the state capital of New York, where he organized the first modern political machine. After helping elect Andrew Jackson president, he became Jackson's close adviser, serving as secretary of state and vice president. During his tumultuous presidency, the nation suffered through a deep depression, and disputes about slavery began to divide the country. Van Buren used all his political skills to address these and other problems, but he lacked the personal magnetism of Jackson and was defeated for re-election. He ran and lost in two later presidential elections.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-An attractive, colorful design with lots of space between and around the texts makes these titles useful for report writers. Six to seven chapters, subdivided with bold headings and further broken up with pictures, maps, drawings, and fact boxes, provide clear supplemental material to the basic narratives. A brief "Fast Facts" includes all of the usual appended information: time line, glossary, historic sites, Web sites, and index. Both books have lists for further reading, but no bibliographies. They also include multi-colored tables of all the presidents noting dates of office, birth, and death, and birthplace.-Rita Soltan, Oakland University, Rochester, MI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.