Major L. Wilson

Being a typical entry in the University of Kansas series which features a pleasantly dull analysis of the Van Buren presidency, with a minimum of authorial voice.

Van Buren isn't high on most lists of US Presidents. He's usually considered a politician in the worst sense of the word and his presidency less than a success. Wilson attempts to dispel that impression in The Presidency of Martin Van Buren. I say attempts because, honestly, the argument isn't convincing. The text is dense and overly academic. But worse, very little of the man shines through - this is mostly a discussion of policy without any sense of who Van Buren really was.