A first son for a founding father -- The seeds of statesmanship -- The land of lovely dames -- "He grows...very fat" -- Never was a father more satisfied -- A free, independent, and powerful nation -- A profile in courage -- Diplomatic exile -- Restoring peace to the world -- Stepladder to the presidency -- The great and foul stain -- The end of the beginning -- A new beginning -- Freedom is the prize

He fought for Washington, served with Lincoln, witnessed Bunker Hill, and sounded the clarion against slavery on the eve of the Civil War. He negotiated an end to the War of 1812, engineered the annexation of Florida, and won the Supreme Court decision that freed the African captives of The Amistad. He served his nation as minister to six countries, secretary of state, senator, congressman, and president. John Quincy Adams was all of these things and more. In this biography, the author reveals Quincy Adams as a towering figure in the nation's formative years and one of the most courageous figures in American history, which is why he ranked first in John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize winning book Profiles in Courage. This biography and sweeping panorama of American history from the Washington to Lincoln eras, follows one of America's most important yet least-known figures