Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest

by K. Jack Bauer

Considering the course his life took, one might wonder how Zachary Taylor ever came to be elected the twelfth president of the United States. According to K. Jack Bauer, Taylor "was and remains an enigma." He was a southerner who espoused many antisouthern causes, an aristocrat with a strong feeling for the common man, an energetic yet cautious and conservative soldier. Not an intellectual, Taylor showed little curiosity about the world around him. In this biography--the most comprehensive since Holman Hamilton's two-volume work published forty years ago--Bauer offers a fresh appraisal of Taylor's life and suggests that Taylor may have been neither so simple nor so nonpolitical as many historians have believed.



Taylor's sixteen months as president were marked by disputes over California statehood and the Texas-New Mexico boundary. Taylor vehemently opposed slavery extension and threatened to hang those southern hotheads who favored violence and secession as a means to protect their interests. He died just as he had begun a reorganization of his administration and a recasting of the Whig party.

Balanced and judicious, forthright and unreverential, and based on thoroughgoing research, this book will be for many years the standard biography of Zachary Taylor.-- "Journal of American History"

Genres: Presidents, Biography, History, Us Presidents, Nonfiction, American History, Politics

348 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1985

About the author

A specialist in naval history, Jack Bauer earned his BA at Harvard University in 1946 and an MA in 1949 and a Ph.D. in 1953 from Indiana University. He worked at the National Archives as an archivist and as an historian with the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Branch and the Naval History Division before taking an assistant professorship at Morris Harvey College in 1961. In 1965 he moved to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he taught as an associate professor from 1965 until 1970, then as a full professor from 1970 until his retirement.

Reviews

[brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

12th entry in my 'presidential project' and the first to kick my ass. made it about 100 pgs and declare myself... conquered. look: the raw material probably ain't as interesting as the 11 which preceded; however, bauer's writing certainly doesn't help matters. do we need to know the spatial dimensions of every house, fort, or garrison taylor inhabited? or does shit like that piled atop other shit like that just kinda obscure the view? for a bio of this nature, ya gotta streamline or possess a novelist's powers of narration. bauer didn't; bauer doesn't.

i wanted to push through and tag it with 3 stars simply b/c bauer's writing about some obscure dude who was prez for 16 months and there's something admirable about all the thankless work & research that goes into something like this. and bauer clearly did his homework. so no offense, jack bauer, i guess i'm just an MTV baby and don't have the patience. it's the way of the world.

i told myself, when possible, i was gonna read proper biographies and wasn't gonna mess with that 'american president' series*, but bauer and taylor have beaten me into submission.


"Delivery estimate: Mar. 21, 2012
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Eisenhower, John S. D.; Hardcover; $11.97
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*although, being a fan of the former senator, i picked up gary hart's volume (james monroe) and it kicked the shit out of the 'proper' bio by the other guy.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it even possible to write a great biography of a mediocre president? Even the greatest biographer might not be able to produce a five-star work on Zachary Taylor, but Bauer’s is a solid effort - maybe I’m grading it on a curve by giving it four stars [edit: three], but that’s in recognition of the fact that he does about as well as can be expected with a relatively lackluster subject.

The book begins with a preface that seems almost apologetic, as though Bauer is challenging you to proceed. Most of Taylor’s military career going from frontier post to frontier post "was not only unexciting, but mundane and boring," Bauer warns, prefacing what you’re about to commit yourself to reading. He also cautions that "Taylor was not an intellectual and demonstrated only limited curiosity about the world around him." And the last chapter concludes that Taylor “was and remains an enigma."

So, when bookended that way, what can you possibly hope to learn in the 300+ pages in between?

Much like Taylor's career itself, the book doesn't really get going until the Mexican-American War. While the story of the war's beginning is most often told from the perspective of Washington and the Polk administration, it is interesting to see precisely how it played out on the ground from Taylor's vantage point. The descriptions of the battles and troop movements are perhaps more geared toward the academic than the layman - the writing is not particularly dramatic, as Bauer describes both the important and unimportant moments of Taylor's military career in the same even, matter-of-fact tone. No buildup or signposting or dramatic flourishes, mostly just a straightforward narrative.

But Bauer does look for hints as to Taylor's political beliefs - he may have been a reluctant presidential candidate who had never actually voted in any election, but Bauer does dispel the notion that that made Taylor a blank slate. From his expressed opposition to the John Quincy Adams administration, to his early support for and later opposition to Andrew Jackson, and his support for the candidacy of William Henry Harrison, Taylor had firmly "placed himself politically in the Whig camp" even before he became a political figure himself.

Bauer also has plenty of criticism to offer about how Taylor performed as military general, and president. The book is refreshing that way, in that Bauer doesn't try to rehabilitate Taylor's image or argue that he's been unfairly treated by history. Instead, he offers a blunt and candid assessment of Taylor's shortcomings without being overly harsh. And he analyzes Taylor's actions as best he can, while acknowledging there is plenty that is not documented and that we simply don't know.

Taylor was swept up into the 1848 presidential race by Whigs who wanted to win, despite the fact that he had little desire, or indeed qualifications, for the office. Ironically, Bauer explains, the more Polk tried to sideline him during the war to take the air out of any Taylor-for-president efforts, the more that seeking the office as an act of political revenge seemed to appeal to Taylor.

Bauer writes that Taylor entered office with a "naive assumption that good intentions and a genuine dedication to the common good would triumph." His short presidency is portrayed as conservative, pragmatic, almost passive - Taylor was strongly opposed to sectionalism and disunion, which ended up dominating his presidency to the exclusion of almost all other issues. But Congress, and not Taylor, ended up doing most of the work in patching over northern and southern differences, with the Compromise of 1850.

Bauer suggests that Taylor was growing into his role after his initial naivety, as he began looking to surround himself with more effective department heads and became more sure of himself and his convictions. But fate, in the form of those infamous cherries and iced milk, intervened before he could establish himself as a more effective president. He may not have been destined to become one of the greats, but we’ll simply never know. So Taylor’s story is neither inspirational, nor cautionary - it’s just kind of there. But if you’re interested in the man or the era, Bauer balances thoroughness and readability, in doing about as good a job with his subject as possible.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A straightforward and well-researched biography of Taylor.

Bauer admits that Taylor’s military career was “mundane and boring,” but he ably describes how Taylor’s military career enhanced his political prospects, how it was affected by the press, and how as president Taylor, despite being petty and somewhat witless, grew more independent and assertive than the Whig establishment had estimated. There is little on his personal life, but only due to the lack of material we have.

The narrative is a bit dull, often due to Taylor’s mediocre personality. Bauer does develop his ideas clearly and keeps the reader as engaged as he can, but the book does remain rather flat, there often isn't much insight, and the minutiae can get mind-numbing. A lot of people are also introduced without much background. Some better maps would have helped. There are also a few typos or jumbled-up sentences.

A solid but somewhat bland biography.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

While certainly an exacting biography, this book has the unwanted distinction of being a remarkably boring book. And this coming from a person who reads biographies for fun.

It is not entirely Bauer's fault that this book is so hard to slog through, although a good chunk of the blame does lie on his shoulders for his decision not to abridge some of the long years of Taylor doing basically nothing on the frontier. Taylor was a career soldier unlike any of the former presidents, and while rising through the ranks the guy served mostly during peace time and until the Mexican war had only a handful of combat commands to his name, including the poorly handled single pitched battle in the Seminole war. Bauer paints him as an able but doggedly unimaginative commander, whose best distinction was that he ran a pretty tight ship at the countless frontier forts he served at. Why Bauer felt the need to explain in detail every single reassignment when Taylor lacked even major feuds with other officers to break the monotony I do not know. The first half of this book could be shortened considerably to make the same points.

The other issue is that, as has been pointed out, Taylor is a boring dude, and whatever personal thoughts that might color that have been lost when the Union burned his descendant's farm. I wouldn't hold much hope that whatever papers existed would markedly change the review of his personality - Taylor was honestly just not that interesting.

This book gets a bit more interesting once Taylor finally enters the public sphere when he is chosen to lead the Army of Occupation (his choice of name) in the Mexican War. Bauer gives us the best portrait of the man here, one who chose to command with an extreme laissez faire attitude ill-suited to a great commander. Still, thanks to the competency of the men under his command and the poor quality of Mexican troops and leaders, Taylor scored the successes necessary to procure for the United States, ultimately, everything from Colorado to California, so Taylor's contribution to American history is impossible to ignore.

Bauer does a good job looking at Taylor's weaknesses, which are more numerous than his strengths, and what led to the gaffe-prone 'non-partisan' would-be Jefferson emulator to the presidency. The Whigs were more desperate for a candidate than they were for a good politician, and Taylor's popularity, even if it was undeserved, positioned him well for the presidency. So what does Taylor offer to the historian, then? A good look at the Mexican war and the split sectional issues of the US in the late 1840s-50s. His ascendancy is more notable for being leveraged by the Whigs than it was for anything remarkable about the man. Bauer also does a competent job of analyzing Taylor's short presidency - 16 months - and the ways in which the naive politician was unprepared for Washington. Those sixteen months were marred by Taylor's weak cabinet and his administration's inability to work with congress. While Bauer mentions Taylor was planning on shaking up his cabinet, in the end Taylor's death would doom his administration to a mediocre at best station, almost as uneventful and uninteresting as the rest of Taylor's life.

If you're looking for a biography of Taylor, this might be your only choice that qualifies as a full biography (which mattered to me), but it is not perfect. It doesn't have as much to recommend it as Ketcham's long, detailed, but deep bio on Madison. I suggest going into it knowing that you might want to kind of skim a good chunk of it.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://bestpresidentialbios.com/2014/...

“Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest” is K. Jack Bauer’s 1985 biography of the twelfth U.S. president. Early in his career Bauer worked at the National Archives and later became a naval historian. He was also a history professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for more than two decades. Bauer died in 1987.

This book is widely regarded as the definitive biography of Taylor, and for good reason. Relying on a wide array of primary sources, this biography is clearly the result of exhaustive research. I suspect that nowhere other than at Langley or Fort Meade (or perhaps the J Edgar Hoover Building) has anyone compiled so thorough an account of the movements of any one individual throughout his or her life.

Two things are quickly obvious when reading Bauer’s narrative of Taylor’s career. First, despite Zachary Taylor’s long service as a military officer and his roles in multiple wars (beginning with the War of 1812) his life was far more dull and uneventful than one might assume. The author admits as much in his introductory remarks when he warns the reader that Taylor’s career was largely “mundane” and “boring.”

Second, where most biographers tend to exhibit a conspicuous sympathy for their subjects, the deeper Bauer gets into this soldier-president’s life the less enthusiastic the author seems to become. Bauer castigates Taylor for his lack of education, sophistication and imagination. He variously labels Taylor self-centered, illogical, lacking in curiosity and virtuosity, and devoid of great military instincts. Even Taylor’s military victories are ascribed more to incompetent opponents than clever tactics by General Taylor.

Rather than seeming grossly unfair or imbalanced, the author’s perspective comes across as a harsh but probably entirely accurate assessment of Taylor’s competencies as a soldier and a statesman. Based on Bauer’s review of Taylor’s life through his service in the Mexican War, the fact he was nominated by the Whig party, much less elected president, seems not only improbable but almost preposterous.

But if the strength of Bauer’s biography is in his ruthless reporting of Taylor’s shortcomings, the greatest weakness in the book is the author’s pathologically detailed survey of Taylor’s life – trivialities and all. Although Bauer was meritoriously studious in following Taylor’s actions during long stretches of time when a less patient biographer would have lost the trail, the reader is subject to so much uninteresting (and unimportant) day-to-day minutia as to prove mind-crushing.

The first two-thirds of the book covers Taylor’s pre-presidency and it is during this stretch that the less tolerant reader will move on to other tasks…such as painting the house or filing tax returns. While Bauer’s analysis of various skirmishes and battles is excellent, most of this insight is useful only for a military historian. And few will enjoy reading of Taylor’s exploits building roads for the army or learning how he procured mules for supply wagons.

The remaining chapters, on Taylor’s nomination, election and service as president, are more interesting. Although these pages are not uniformly inspirational, Bauer supplies a steady stream of insight and wisdom pertaining to Taylor’s actions as president. For most readers, the majority of the book’s merit is absorbed here. But the curious reader is left wondering what inspired Bauer to study and report Taylor’s life with such intensity.

Jack Bauer’s biography of Zachary Taylor is almost certain to endure as the definitive study of the twelfth president’s long career – and short presidency – but is unlikely to inspire any but the most devoted of Taylor’s disciples. Though packed with excellent scholarship on Taylor’s life and presidency, Bauer’s biography will prove tortuous and formidable for most readers.

Overall rating: 3 stars

[Chase Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

My fault, but I didn’t realize I was reading a biography written by a military historian until I was ripping my hair out at the obscene detail to which the author described every military engagement while omitting most detail of Taylor’s political life. However, this could also be due to the small amount of correspondence that survived the Civil War. Either way, I had a hard time enjoying the book.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our 12th president was the very first of three who came from a strictly military background. the other
two being Grant and Eisenhower. Taylor only served about 15 months and the USA was coming close
to dissolving when he died.

Taylor was born in Kentucky in 1784 when it was still part of Virginia. He also was a distant cousin
of another president James Madison. He grew up in and around Louisville and married Margaret Smith from that area as well. Taylor had 6 children, five daughters and a son. One of those daughters Sarah Knox Taylor became the first wife of his aide Jefferson Davis. But that's getting
well ahead of ourselves.

He joined the army in the first decade of the 19th century and did serve in the War Of 1812. Unlike
folks like Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and Winfield Scott who made their bones in that
conflict in terms of reputation, Taylor's service was confined to some backwater theater where he
performed ably and creditably but made no reputation. For most of the next more than 30 years
he was at a number of military assignments all over the frontier which also included the Black Hawk War and the Seminole War in Florida. It was in Florida against the Seminoles that he first
got some attention from civilians.

Between posts when there was no fighting, Taylor engaged in land speculation rather shrewdly
investing in farm and plantation properties. With plantations of course came slaves and when
Taylor died those slaves were part of his estate. He grew up in a slave state and saw no great
reason to overthrow the established order of things.

Taylor was in charge of the military department that covered the Texas border and here's where history taps him on the shoulder. To protect newly acquired Texas, President Polk orders Taylor
and his army to the Rio Grande River which the Mexicans disputed as the boundary. Once Taylor
crossed the Nueces River which Mexico said was the boundary we were at war with Mexico.

Looking now at the performance of the Mexicans and at the fact the USA won every battle in that
conflict we appear more the aggressive bully than we were, not that we weren't aggressive. But in
the opinion of most observers than the Mexican Army which was trained by Europeans was going
to take us down a peg.

Taylor won battles and enhanced his reputation at Resaca De Palma, Monterey and most of all at
Buena Vista. He was always outnumbered yet he came out on top. The Mexican leadership was
corrupt and massively incompetent and Taylor benefitted from same.

The emphasis of the Mexican War shifted south to the expeditionary force under Winfield Scott
which landed in Vera Cruz and proceeded to Mexico City. Taylor stayed as head of an army of
occupation Northern Mexico and the Whig politicians took notice of him. Many of them were
against the war, but their scruples didn't extend to not using a military hero to gain the White House. It was the best of both worlds and Taylor as Whig candidate in 1848 beat a split Democratic
party field of regular nominee Lewis Cass and former President Martin Van Buren running on the
Free Soil Party.

What to do with that vast territory known as the Mexican Cession acquired in the recent war was
the central issue facing President Taylor. His background gave murky clues at best. One of the
gripes against his candidacy was that Taylor had never even voted. True enough he was stationed
at a lot of frontier posts and absentee balloting was not as sophisticated as it is now. But he was
a Whig in sympathy as author Bauer points out and did like one thing about the Democrats, the
stand that Andrew Jackson took against secession in his time in the White House.

As the debate in Congress raged on about slavery in the new territories Taylor let it be known he
would use force to keep the south in line. As a southerner he was regarded as a traitor. We'll
never know what would have happened because President Taylor died on July 9, 1850. The new
president Millard Fillmore signed a series of bills labeled the Compromise of 1850 which postponed
Civil War for a decade.

I kind of like Zach Taylor, he was a plain spoken soul who affected no military trappings. Ulysses
Grant who served in his army adopted Taylor's ways as his military persona. Representative
Abraham Lincoln who campaigned vigorously for him admired him greatly though Lincoln opposed
the Mexican War.

It was not Taylor's destiny to lead the nation through a Civil War. We can only speculate how he
might have proceeded. Still Bauer's biography lays it all out and it's for you to judge.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Operation Read Every President's Biography #12

Bauer does his best with what is an uninteresting if curious subject, our 12th President, Zachary Taylor, "Ol' Sillynuts". I kid: that would've made him somehow interesting if that was his nickname. "Why are his nuts so silly?" and so on. Instead, we have a dull, plodding figure whose bland ignorance of all things political, and perhaps even military, hardly make for a rousing biography.
That he was only President for 16 months hardly helps matters, but Bauer digs deep into this enigmatic figure, one of a batch of execrable Presidents between Polk and Lincoln. To his credit, Taylor, a career soldier, never made any pretensions at being politically savvy at all, though some of his statements and actions favoring preservation of the Union and a move against more slave states, while he himself was a slaveholder, speaks to some mysterious power of realpolitik. Sadly he died before we ever got to see what potential he held in this regard.
A mediocre general ("competent but unexciting") who fought in the War of 1812, the Seminole War, and, his shining moment, in the war with Mexico, Taylor slouched his way into a Whig nomination for President without ever seeming particularly interested in the role. He was widely seen as a kind of peculiar ignoramus, often taken as a mentally disabled farmer by those meeting him for the first time.
This is the standard for Tayloriana, apparently since little else can be gleaned from this curiously dull President.

[Brian Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taylor's biography relies mainly on cultural and historical evidence as little correspondence from the general survives. In that regard, Taylor's life isn't remarkable enough to sustain a massive bio. The first 100 pages covers what we might suspect from a plantation owner and soldier. The middle 100 does indeed cover his military career and exploits in Mexico. The final 100 covers his political career (with about 50 pages devoted to his 16 month presidency). Taylor was a complete unknown when elected President in 1848, and his political views only emerged in the White House. Not an abolitionist, he didn't please the hard left; refusing to allow slavery to extend into the West, he was an enemy of the hard right. I suppose he did contribute to the accelerating tensions that led to the Civil War; in fact, Taylor said if it erupted, he would lead troops into battle against the South. He is probably most remembered now as one of the those Presidents who died in office, though there was a little more to him than that. If you want to read about this Presidency, many books will do and the American Presidents short series might do for Taylor (or a similar focus in a chapter from a larger book). This is the best "full" biography available.

[Matt Vargo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taylor's life was somewhat boring. He spent his entire life in the military where he did training and recruiting. There was the occasional skirmish with indians and what not, nothing too wild. He accidently got famous in the Mexican American war when his lieutenants won some high profile battles while he dilly dallied about. Back in DC, the swamp was swamping so they decided it would be fun to make Taylor president. Meanwhile, Taylor had never voted and didn't really care about politics. He was president for a year and then died of a stomach ache.

The most interesting thing about Taylor is the "what if". As a lifelong military man, he was staunchly pro-union. While his politics are vague, maybe non-existent......he definitely would not have tolerated any secession shenanigans. What could have been if he had stayed alive instead of leaving things in the hands of the ass clowns who followed him?

[Houston · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book mostly bored me because a lot of the story was detailed war correspondence. When I read a biography I'm hungry for the personal. A few personal Taylor highlights: he wasn't your typical politician; in fact he wasn't a politician at all until right before he entered the 1848 Presidential race. He didn't really have and was discouraged, because he wasn't a great communicator, from voicing his political opinions. He died about 1 & 1/2 years into this Presidency due to some stomach sickness, possibly cholera which was an epidemic around the time of his death and killed like 5,000 New Yorkers. Fun fact: George Washington appointed his Dad to collector of the port of Louisville back in the day...WOW!!

follow my presidential blog @ www.ilovethepresidents.com

[Zack Tinsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my only complaint of this book is that it could have been shorter. A 330 page book could have easily been trimmed by about 50 pages and given the same picture. Hard to deny the work that went into a book about one of the least known and ineffective presidents in US history. To give us a book that is not only well researched but fairly entertaining despite its boring source was quite the accomplishment. I can’t imagine there will ever be a book better than this about Zach Taylor, but it’s not for everyone.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

K. Jack Bauer makes a noble attempt to piece together the life of a man who has few records or artifacts to tell his story, as Zachary Taylor's largely were scattered or destroyed by Civil War poachers. Unfortunately, Bauer appears to show a dislike of his subject, questioning Taylor's credentials and accomplishments on nearly every page. Clearly Taylor rode into the White House on the coattails of fellow generals Washington, Jackson, and Harrison, but managed to accomplish good things during his short stay there. Bauer does spend quality time making that case, and wraps up Taylor's resume in a final-chapter recap, but never until then was quite ready to give the guy some credit. This is a quick read, focusing mostly on Taylor's wartime service, and it offers more details of a presidential funeral than I have yet encountered. Overall, I liked it; just didn't love it.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

As I see it, a biographer of Zachary Taylor has two challenges: 1; the lack of primary sources. Unlike many presidents who kept detailed journals and papers that survive today, much of Taylor’s correspondence was destroyed in a fire. 2; convincing someone other than a dedicated academic historian to read the damned thing. I read this book as part of a quest to read a biography of each president in order, and although I learned a few things about this often forgotten president, for the most part this book is very tough to get through.

The book is roughly divided into three parts; ZT’s time before the Mexican War as a soldier and military leader guarding the frontier during clashes with Native Americans; the Mexican War; and his brief presidency. I actually enjoyed the first part, which placed ZT in a surprising range of locales along the border, from Minnesota to Florida, including sites along the Mississippi. As an Illinois resident, for the first time in this project of mine the president’s life is geographically tangible for me. The section on the Mexican War is tedious and interminable. The author, who seems more interested in military history than of Old Rough and Ready himself, and he dwells too much on military details, troop movements and encampments. Really a slog to get through this part of the book.

Things pick up a bit as the author describes Taylor's ascent to the presidency. The Whigs saw Taylor as their only hope to regain the White House, despite some of his southern proclivities. Taylor himself was reluctant from the start, and was probably the first candidate to not actively seek the office. He was politically inept and a hero of a somewhat unpopular war, yet he found the path to the presidency.

Taylor may not have been as magnanimous or influential as our founding fathers, but that does not mean his biography has to be so painfully dull. This is one is for the academics and may be good for reference, but it is definitely not for armchair historians, so beware.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given what the author had to work with, it was a decent biography, but I have a hard time reading detailed descriptions of battles and military movements. Not having personal papers to base off of, military records gave an outline of his life.

[Brent Ecenbarger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of what I knew about Zachary Taylor prior to reading this book, I had learned from two separate sources. Most of my knowledge came from reading the James Polk biography by Robert Merry, “A Country of Vast Designs,” which detailed Taylor’s Mexican war exploits and his ascension to presidential candidate for the Whig party. The rest of my knowledge came from “John Tyler: Champion of the Old South,” by Oliver Chitwood. Chitwood’s novel didn’t talk about Taylor at all, but I used to get Taylor and Tyler confused quite a bit, so reading that one helped me remember which one Tyler was, which gave me some knowledge on Taylor by process of elimination.

I’m sure that I will see patterns as I read more presidential biographies, and authors will likewise point out similarities, but upon finishing “Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest” I got a heavy sense of déjà vu with one William Henry Harrison. The Whig party of that era has always seemed to pale in comparison to the Democrat party of the era, or even the Federalist party before it. Instead of leaders like Jackson and Jefferson, the Whig party took many of its leads from Henry Clay who (although a major figure of his era) history has not venerated as it has his rivals. The two Whig presidents to win presidential elections ended up both being military leaders following American wars, and both were elected on vague politics than on the strength of any issues. Where William Henry Harrison was elected based on catchy log cabin campaigning and rhyming slogans, Zachary Taylor thrived with alliterative nicknames (“Old Rough and Ready”) and a refusal to take positions on important issues of the era.

For Harrison’s quick successor John Tyler, this led to problems when Tyler differed from Clay’s position on Whig party issues. Similarly, Zachary Taylor ended up sharing more ideals with the Democrat party than his own party was aware of when he was elected. It appeared to be a case of both the Whig party as well as the American voters not learning their lesson when electing a former military commander without first forcing the candidate to declare their position on issues. Taylor’s position (as well as Harrison’s) called for limited involvement by the chief executive, which mitigated the fallout during Taylor’s time as Commander in Chief. Of course, the final similarity is the tragic end of both men. Harrison’s legacy in the history books is his death just months after being elected. Were it not for him, Taylor would be in for the similar distinction of dying two years into his term. Here’s how Taylor scores in my presidential rating rubric.


Born Into – If you’re ever looking to read a quick history of America, you can probably just grab a Virginia history book and get most of the same information. The twelfth President has the same distinction as six of his predecessors in being born in Virginia. Similarly to Polk and Jackson (who were not born in Virginia), Taylor’s family moved west and transplanted him to Kentucky at a young age. The third son of a wealthy family (not Madison wealthy, but closer to Madison’s wealth than Jackson’s humble beginnings), Taylor had access to land and slaves and even a possible military commission through his family and name. 2/5

Pre-President – The bulk of this book is spent on Taylor’s military career prior to being elected president. However, unlike William Henry Harrison, Andrew Jackson or George Washington, Taylor’s military career was fairly unremarkable. Beginning with the War of 1812, Taylor’s troops were involved in some small Indian skirmishes, but his only involvement significant enough to warrant discussion was the his defense of Fort Harrison from Indian attack. Taylor was successful in fighting off the intruders and utilized the civilians present to fight fires and load muskets, but the numbers were on the small side and it did not play a significant role in Taylor’s advancement in command.

Between the War of 1812 and the Mexican War (1816 to 1846) Taylor’s military record is very uneventful with one exception. Bauer does a nice job showing Taylor’s character during these thirty years, and the result is not flattering to the subject. Much of Taylor’s surviving writings (most of his letters were destroyed by the boys in blue during the Civil War) are letters sent during this period in which he showed continued frustration at slow advancement in army (brevet commissions were detailed heavily in contributing to this problem). Bauer described Taylor as suffering from “30 year old syndrome,” which boiled down to the future president having a bad attitude about his station in life. Taylor was routinely quick to lose his temper and committed himself to two duels, but neither took place. When not requesting promotion in the army, he was often involved in petty arguments and grudges with other officers, or taking leave for vacations to his new home in Baton Rouge, LA.

The only real action or excitement during this time was the Battle of Lake Okeechobee in the Florida Seminole conflicts, which ended up being the bloodiest battle of 19th Century Indian Warfare. Taylor’s troops took heavy losses, particularly his volunteer militia (which Taylor was never fond of using). Taylor was criticized for sacrificing his volunteer militia in his battle plan, but still got a promotion to Brigadier following the battle and became leader of the Army of the South in dealing with the Florida Indian problem. During this period he earned his nickname, Old Rough and Ready, but like all the other commanders dealing with defending Florida was not able to solve the problems. I’ll give Taylor credit for trying some innovative ideas (establishing a grid of outposts for quick responses, using bloodhounds to track Indians (unsuccessfully)) which stood out in contrast to his conservative leadership in the Mexican American War.

Bauer repeatedly made the point that Taylor was not a great tactician and also lacked a killer instinct to pursue enemy and end conflicts. As part of four battles in the Mexican American War, all were victories but each was criticized by historians for Taylor’s decision making. Taylor comes across as a presence for the army more than a tactician or motivator. Dressed as a farmer on all but two occasions (according to another officer), Taylor would often play jokes on new arrivals and pretend to be somebody other than the General. He would later run his cabinet as he did his command, allowing those under him to make decisions on strategy and command, and rather than take over should they fail, he would withdraw and replace the individual later on. His most famous battle is certainly Buena Vista; again Bauer goes to great lengths to minimize Taylor's actual planning and even presence (Taylor mistakenly believed the battle was over prematurely and left to inspect a hospital at one point) with two officers (Wool and Worth) doing more of the leading. With the War still ongoing, Taylor requested six months leave shortly after Buena Vista, and left for home before it was even granted. 2/5


Presidential Career – I will be interested to find out if any President ever takes the office being as underqualified as Zachary Taylor. Not holding political offices or being involved with political associates is one thing, but Taylor’s political naivety far exceeded that. As an illustration, when Taylor was elected, about 83% of those that could legally vote, did; that was also a low turnout for that year. Taylor, by contrast, had NEVER voted before. If you also read Merry’s Polk biography, there is an argument to be made that Taylor was confused on which political party even represented his own personal views. Despite identifying himself as a Jefferson democrat, he would run as a Whig candidate. On the few occasions Taylor would disclose his views on any given topic, they would often be diametrically opposed to the party he was running for and he would be advised to cease commenting on issues. With that background, what exactly did he bring to the office? Regardless, he ended up defeating both Martin Van Buren of the Free Soil Party and Lewis Cass in the Democratic Party

Taylor’s political views ended up being easy to summarize in the abstract, and harder to pinpoint on specific issues of the time. He opposed using the veto, preferring laws to come from the legislature. He opposed protective tariffs, and didn’t believe the national bank was feasible, while also favoring internal improvements. Most significantly, he believed slavery should be protected but not extended, and he was not committed to the Monroe Doctrine. When assembling his cabinet, Taylor focused more on geography than skill or merit, trying to represent the country. The possibility exists that he was trying to form his own political party but I’m skeptical he was ambitious or intelligent enough to have actually taken steps toward this. The result of his weak cabinet was there was no implementation of any domestic policies during Taylor’s term in office, and his relationship with Congress was poor.

The two main issues of Taylor’s presidency were the slavery issue in new American territories and a proposed canal in Nicaragua. It is through these two issues that we must judge Taylor’s presidency, as so little was accomplished by his administration. Complicating this is that Taylor died before the Compromise of 1850 was even reached, leaving the biographer (and reader) to speculate on what little information can be verified. Negotiating a potential Nicaraguan canal with Britain (who had an interest in their Moskito Islands protectorate) seems minor in the abstract but should certainly be considered the major legacy of the Taylor Administration. The resulting Clayton-Bullwer treaty was reached and has been praised and criticized for its two results. First, the concessions by both Great Britain and America to not expand further into Central America ended manifest destiny to the South. Taylor’s non-agreement with the Monroe Doctrine also shows as Great Britain was allowed to remain in Central America. This latter effect would be minimized due to a number of economic and political factors which would later lead to British withdrawal from the Moskito protectorate, no thanks to Taylor.

Following the Mexican American War, the new territories of California, Utah, New Mexico and Texas posed the greatest question to American leadership since Independence. The southern states were well aware that the North would continue to have advantages in the House of Representatives for the future, so the admission of new states and territories was of vital importance in determining the strength of the Senate. All parties also became aware that Utah, California and New Mexico were not interested in having slavery be a part of their new state Constitutions. A number of proposals came forth to allow Northern and Southern agreement on this, but each required concessions from both sides. Taylor surprised many by actually siding with the Northern Whigs proposal. The reason for this is unclear, as it’s possible Taylor was preferring to save the larger number of northern votes for a possible second term, or it’s possible that Taylor viewed preserving the Union as tantamount to any sectional interests. The ultimate resolution would be saved for Millard Fillmore, but Taylor’s passivity and eventual position do not harm him in the eyes of his historian. 1.5/5.


Vice President – Fillmore brought some experience to the Executive Branch that his running mate sorely lacked. Prior to serving as Vice President, Representative Fillmore has served as the Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee. He also stood on his own principles as Vice President, not always agreeing or going along with Taylor (which there is no indication really bothered Taylor). Fillmore indicated he would have voted for the final proposed compromise as Vice President if it came to him as a tiebreaker, but like most presidents of that era his overall involvement was limited. 3/5.


First Lady – The first sixty years of the executive branch was not kind to first ladies. Three of the first twelve died before their husband took office, one died while in office, and two more suffered such ailments that their historical legacy was being labeled an invalid while their daughters carried out the duties of office. That group includes Margaret (“Peggy”)” Smith, who became Margaret Taylor. Her contributions to Taylor did include some generous land being gifted to the couple for their wedding (Taylor would have been worth three million or so in the 1980’s, not bad for a career Army officer) and several daughters and a son. Fun fact, one of Taylor’s daughters married Jefferson Davis against Taylor’s approval. Not so fun fact, that daughter died shortly afterward, and Taylor has two other daughters who had died in the same week several years prior. It does not appear the Taylor family could count good health among their many other blessings. 1/5.


Post-Presidency – Taylor died in office. 0/5.


Book Itself – This biography did what I most want from a presidential biography. It told me about what sort of person Taylor was, provided numerous examples to support that claim, and would speculate on why he made certain decisions and then support that speculation with any evidence available. The problem was that Taylor led a fairly uneventful life and was not a particularly compelling individual. Although not quite as boring as Martin Van Buren, Taylor is certainly close to that end of the spectrum in terms of page turning biographies. The pictures section of his biography was also a bit of a letdown, being in black and white and having limited images of his family. 3.5/5.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for an insightful, open minded president this is not the one you want to read about.

To say Zachary Taylor is a bad president would be a mischaracterization, he wasn't bad but he wasn't good either. He falls some where in between in not where you think a leader would fall. His early life before president is just meh.. he doesn't stand out and when he does it's due to the fact that the public made the battle look better then it really was. The only true battle he was in before the Mexican-American War was in fighting the Seminoles in Florida. This battle was really a loss due to a terrible strategy by Taylor which is a trend that would continue throughout his career. Most of this front line infantry were devastated due to poor planning but some how the spin factor public turns it into a big route of the Seminoles.

As often is the case, he made a plan and stuck to it even when new evidence presented itself that would cause others to change their mind for a better solution. This would of caused him greatly if it wasn't for great leaders under his command executing a brilliant strategy without the help of Taylor.

During the Mexican-American war is when his true faults start to shine. From ill planing on supply lines to ignoring orders and yet again some how getting fandom for the Buena Vista battle that was unnecessary and cost Americans their lives and almost the whole Mexican-American war. Some how Taylor always managed to do a meh job and move upwards in the political sphere due to media spin that left out hard facts.

Finally the presidency, sure he gets credit for "officially" ending Manifest Destiny with the treaty with the British in Central America that would lead to the eventual Panama Canal. If one thinks back though Manifest Destiny was essentially over once Polk had won the Meixcan-American war as the efforts of some to take over all of Mexico were soundly defeated before the end of the war.

His cabinet was put together with no thought of a relationship to congress. Yes, it is ok to have a political outsider to be president but you must have and support a relationship with Congress if you want any of your items to pass. However, due to Taylor being the perfect "project manager" he ignored this fact until late in his life when he had to replace much of the admin due to a scandal. While the new admin would be by all accounts better it is hard to say if his leadership would have improved.

Taylor's anger against the compromise of 1850, which was a good plan of Henry Clay, shows his unwillingness to change his position in the fact of new evidence which is a huge factor in making a great president. Also, his indifference and almost defiance against bringing in Henry Clay is some what bizarre. Almost as if he was trying to stroke his ego on not having to rely on Clay.

Book - 4 stars - Great book but like the authors Mexican-American war book, he gets bogged down in the battle detail.

President - Overall C- I can't help but just picture him as a project manager. One who accepts all the fame for little to no work.

[Brandon Creel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second president who unfortunately leaves us a “what if?” story in our nation’s history, though Taylor had a bit longer to leave an imprint than the last president who died only one month in his tenure. Taylor was afforded just over 16 months to give us an impression.

Even apart from dying in office, Taylor’s story is in some ways similar to the last general-turned-president, William Henry Harrison, in that he never had any designs or ambitions for the presidency, and in a sense stumbled into it by happenstance. Where the story differs, however, is that Taylor’s record prior to the presidency (and Mexican-American War preceding it) was wholly unremarkable. In fact, I would consider it downright boring. I was worried that this was the fault of the author as I trodded through the first half of this book, but as it turns out, I think Bauer just didn’t have much to work with. Taylor competently made it through the ranks, not excelling or failing in any real way, hardly seeing any battle, and not accomplishing anything of note.

When we get to the Mexican-American War, Taylor has some of the most marked successes of his career, including the battles at Palo Alto, Monterrey, and Buena Vista. But in each of these instances, it is a story of his armies excelling not because of any brilliance on the part of Taylor. In fact, some of his decisions probably acted to their detriment. Fortunately, his adversaries made a series of poor decisions and underperformed to his benefit. Deservedly or not, Taylor returned in the role of hero.

At the same time, the nation seemed to just assume that their next president would be a product of this war. We saw this in how Polk selected and treated his generals, trying his best to keep any suspected Whigs from glory. Winfield Scott was stymied enough to leave Taylor as the most logical choice in everyone eyes. Again, Taylor didn’t actively do much to help his cause, letting the process mostly run on its own, and if anything, hurt his chances a bit a couple of times along the way.

Taylor’s time in office follows the theme of unremarkability. Foreign affairs were largely benign by 1849 and Taylor did not make much of a push for a domestic agenda. Where we get into the “what-if” has to do with two things: (1) Taylor was in the process of revamping his cabinet in the summer of 1850, and (2) Taylor’s seemingly staunch opposition to what became the Compromise of 1850. This compromise delayed the inevitable of what became the Civil War, but what if Taylor would have forced their hand? What if the South did not have 10 more years to stew on the issue? Taylor voiced adamantly that he would lead the troops himself in quashing any rebellion (in the same style employed by Jackson 20 years earlier), but who knows what kind of success Taylor would have had if it came to that. And maybe Taylor would have eventually acquiesced in this compromise? All that we know is that Taylor died and Fillmore signed off on it upon assuming the presidency.

[Steve King · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always said that I thought the best presidents would be made of men who had no desire to be president. Reading K. Jack Bauer's biography of Zachary Taylor makes me re-think that.

Zachary Taylor seems to have been a fairly uninteresting person. What makes this biography one of the better presidential biographies I've read is the fact that regardless of his own personality, Taylor spent his career in some very interesting environments.

Unlike many of his presidential predecessors, Taylor was born to a middle class family. He joined the military as an officer in his early years and spent his entire career in the Army. Stationed along the American frontier for nearly his entire time in service, persons reading this biography will get to experience the War of 1812, military life along the frontier, the Seminole wars in Florida, and of course the Mexican-American war which would catapult Taylor to fame and a presidential nomination.

Taylor's time in the military demonstrates leadership that was good but not great and he was definitely a leader of the "old guard" style, always preparing to fight the last war. He gets good marks as a recruiter, trainer and peace-time leader, but was a weak campaigner and owes a lot of his credit to more innovative subordinates, especially during the Mexican-American war.

Even his campaign for president showed Taylor's usual detach aloofness. Prior to his election, Taylor had never made a claim of any political party, nor even voted in a presidential election. At one point he was courted by both the Whigs and Democrats and didn't really care which party nominated him (or much care if he was nominated). His early presidency showed much of the same that was seen of his military career. He had little plan and choose to simply be a sort of "final say" on constitutional matters. As his death in office approached, he did begin to show more interest in the biggest issue of the day, the threat of disunion, and became an active participant in the political battles between north and south on the issues of statehood for California, Texas, New Mexico and Utah.

It's a shame many of his papers were lost during the civil war when his plantation was sacked by Union troops. Maybe they would have showed a more interesting or passionate man. As it stands, about the most that can be said of Taylor was that he lived life in interesting places.

[Marc T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended for history buffs or fans of Zachery Taylor but not for the casual reader of history.

I'm not sure if it was the style of the biographer or his subject matter (Taylor), but this biography was drudgery for the first 2/3rds only picking up once Taylor began campaigning (which he did somewhat passively) for president. His early life and military career, despite the age in which he served, was unexemplary.

It also doesn't help that out of all the presidents up to this point, it seems the least is known about him, especially when it comes to primary sources. This is partly due to his farm/plantation in Kentucky being raided by Union forces in 1863 resulting in almost all of his personal correspondence being destroyed or missing. In addition, it seems he wasn't as much of a writer or documenter as his contemporaries.

Chapter 15 is an interesting and fairly deep dissection of the Compromise of 1850 and the "Essay on Sources" at the end of the biography is interesting by shedding light on where this author found his information and the incredible amount of information that exists documenting the history of the United States. Reading this section one truly gets the sense of the enormous task biographers set for themselves when shifting through all of the available papers when doing research on their topics.

Taylor himself struck me as a very odd choice to ascend to the presidency. Not especially talented or educated with no political experience, his was a mind not cut out for the job. Compared to presidents before him he was certainly the least qualified for the highest office and I would rank him as the lowest/worst/least effective of the presidents up to that point (not counting William Henry Harrison who served only one month).

As a person it seems he was not the most pleasant: intransigent, mulish, a curmudgeon and a complainer. He did not have a progressive or open mind.

Two last points of interest: it is highly likely that the only time he voted in an election was for himself (although there is an unclear citation that he may not have even voted then).

And it was during his administration that the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850) resulted in the rapprochement between Britain and the United States. The signing also laid the groundwork for the strong alliance between the two nations for the future and is probably the best thing that can be said of his year and four months in office.

[Bob Diethrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished Zachary Taylor and the man was pretty uninteresting, a forty year military career of little note or renown as he punched his ticket at various frontier posts, served in the War of 1812 and a few Indian Wars, before making his reputation in the Mexican War. Even there, the man was no Stonewall Jackson or George Patton, let alone Grant or Lee. He was competent, but overly cautious. Reminded me of George McClellan.

(One Note: a fellow reader pointed out that Bauer seemed to have a bias against Taylor and that his military career especially in the Mexican War was much better than had been recorded, and also his conduct in the Indian Wars was better than Bauer wrote. David Eisenhower's bio is more balanced on him, and Grant himself has said Taylor was the better general in the War, not Winfield Scott. I will read more on this matter when I have the time)

The peace time army in the 19th Century was just not that interesting.

One point about Taylor's brief presidency that I found interesting. The historical record on him is pretty limited, because most of his papers and personal correspondence was burned when Union troops set fire to his Louisiana plantation during the War. Taylor, despite being a slave-owner, was not wedded to knee jerk politics of the Southern aristocracy. He was genuinely in favor of the Compromise of 1850, despite knowing that it would throw out the balance of the previous compromise of 30 years before and he made several appeals to Northern free-soilers and even abolitionists. Taylor, like Garfield a few decades later died too soon into their presidencies to make a difference. Both men could have been surprises.

One final note, is that I feel the need to do some "foot note chasing", a term one of my Duquesne history profs used to use, about the first shots fired in the Mexican War. As the US and Mexican armies faced off at the Rio Grande, the Taylor bio reports that "The presence of Americans, nevertheless, did not prevent Mexican senoritas from swimming nude in the river. But when young American officers tried to join them, Mexican guards opened fire." Did the first shots of the Mexican War occur over skinny dipping? 📷;-) That's a primary source I need to find.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many reviews of this book said it was mind numbingly boring I was hesitant to read it. So I started my Taylor reading with the presidential series Zachary Taylor by John Eisenhower. This brief 100 + page minibook provided facts but left me "thirsty" for more.
Jack Bauer's wonderful book was far from boring. The copious details I found interesting, informative, and demonstrated the authors scruplous research. Admittedly some of the long lists of names, or exact dimensions of buildings in a fort were easily read without needing to remember all the detail. The key enjoyment from Bauers book was it gave me the clear picture of what was happening, where it was happening and why it occurred. I had filled in the gaps from Eisenhowers brief book with my own estimates of what and where, only to find I had gotten many things wrong.
The last 10 pages of the book summarize and evaluate Taylor in an open "warts and all" kind of way. Bauer does not try to hide, or explain away or defend many of Taylor's shortcummings. Taylor had an explosive temper, took offense easily, was not well educated, was pig headed when he made a decision, and a couple dozen other personality flaws.
I found Taylor was interesting even with his flaws. It soon became obvious that he was a complainer, felt he always got the short straw, and had no idea how to be president.
The notes on the bottom of the page sometimes held gems of information that provided a better understandingof events.
Finally, for the serious presidential reader the annotated "Essay on Sources" provided bibliography for additional reading.
If you are also reading through the presidents as I am, don't let comments that this is a mind numbing, glassy eyed, awful book deter you from what is still considered as the best book on Taylor. I am glad I read it.

[Joshua Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Credit to author K. Jack Bauer for writing such an even-handed account of the 12th president of the United States. Taylor was a mediocre soldier and officer, even during the Mexican-American war when he earned national glory (his conservative tactics nearly cost him on several occasions). Intellectually apathetic, Taylor never voted (until his own 1848 election), did not read, and was likely the most unqualified candidate for the presidency for the time and for hundreds of years to follow.

However he surprised many in his role as Chief Executive. As Bauer noted he was a slaveholder from KY and LA who worked to restrict its expansion (while never freeing the enslaved people on his plantations). He was a military hero who worked to end Manifest Destiny (in Central America) and curtailed the Monroe Doctrine.

A staunch Unionist, like Jackson before him (although Taylor didn’t support AJ), he made plans to hold the South accountable if they went through with plans to secede after the admittance of California to the Union.

But we will never know if Taylor’s presidential term would’ve altered history as he died in July 1850 only 15 months into his first four years.

[Jeremy Anderberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

General Zachary Taylor, hero of the Mexican-American War and second POTUS to die in office, badly needs a new, modern biography. Of all the presidential histories I’ve read, this falls into bottom two in terms of readability and liveliness (along with Old Tippecanoe, which covers the life of William Henry Harrison). The first couple hundred pages are nearly unbearable, getting into minute detail about Taylor’s war movements and battle tactics. This part of the book was so dry and took me months and a couple long-term breaks to get through.

The last 120 or so pages of the book, thankfully, are more worth while. The reader gets the lowdown on the 1848 election (in which Taylor was recruited by both parties, because nobody knew his principles), Taylor’s laissez-faire leadership style, and his untimely death and replacement by Millard Fillmore. Bauer pretty well eviscerates the General as a president; he was a military man who didn’t really have any interest in political leadership, but accepted the mantle that was thrust upon him by the D.C. political machine.

Don’t read this book unless you’re in dire need of a Zach Taylor biography for your presidential reading project.

[Russ Grossman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 21st book in my Presidential reading list - this was a mixed bag. On one hand, Bauer gives us a complete rundown of Taylor's life with a nice summary of the important points at the end. On the other hand, it's super dry and boring. I definitely zoned out for a lot of the military background - which battles, promotion politics, etc. However, while Taylor was no genius strategist, he managed to get the job done and was persistent. He had no political ambition and attempted to be as neutral a president as he could be. Not a whole lot happened during his presidency, but contrary to what people thought he would do, he was not a fan of expanding slavery to newly acquired territories. Unfortunately he only made it a year into his presidency due to contaminated food he should not have eaten. I haven't read any other Taylor biographies, but I can't imagine anyone being able to make this guy interesting. This is the one to read if you want to know his life story, just don't expect it to be a page turner.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I genuinely feel bad for rating this so low. Bauer was working with a dearth of material on a man who was only president for 16 months, and he obviously devoted a meticulous and impressive amount of time to sketching together this 300+ page biography for Taylor.

There was just no need for it to be that long, though. This is a recitation of facts with precious little analyses, and in the middle of it all Bauer gets so into the weeds of military history that you are desperately trying to figure out how it relates to Taylor's life (if you're still awake). I am talking providing tent measurements and detailed receipts of what soldiers ate.

Despite the scarcity of material, Bauer did convince me Taylor was a rather interesting figure governing in a complex time - a John Roberts style politician who seemed to consistently make decisions that weren't always the party line. However, this is one of the most boring books I have ever read, and I had to skim the military history chapters just to keep my brain from dissolving.

On to Millard Fillmore, thank God.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 stars for readability 4 stars for research and thoroughness. Bauer essentially did a ton of research on Taylor and just threw it up to the reader. I don't feel that I know Taylor any better than I did before but I know what he had for lunch of Feb 23rd during the battle of Palo Alto (i'm kidding but not much). I ended up skimming a large portion of the middle of this book as Bauer delved into the minutia of Taylor's military life. Taylor is not a particularly well know president.. he only survived two years in office before dying with little to show for it. But as with all presidents between Jackson and Lincoln much of his domestic policy was defined by the issue of slavery and the impending disolvement of the union.

[The Logophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a personal enjoyment level, I would likely only give this biography 3 stars. There are 327 pages & I really only enjoyed the last 70 pages. I found his military career boring & didn't think all the details that were given were necessary, but that's just me. I'm reading a bio of every president, so there are bound to be a handful that don't particularly interest me. Having said that, the last 70 pages were incredibly fascinating. I believe the author did an excellent job highlighting Taylor's beliefs & personality even though many historians view him as an enigma. In the end, despite my initial boredom, I'm incredibly glad I read this book & found Taylor to be a very likable individual. Perhaps 3.5 stars is a more accurate rating.

[Daniel Mala · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fairly interesting read. Sort of round 2 of a Whig president with a military story dying while in office. The more interesting part of Zachary Taylor's life was his military life during the Mexican-American War. This put him at the center of defining the southern boarder of the US. I just thought his presidency was rather an exercise in trying to avoid a Civil war over slavery. It appears that ultimately he did this by dying. Tensions were high and then people were trying to decide yet again what to do when the President dies. I do think that it is sort of illuminating that this country has sort of an obsession that goes way back with hiring people that are too old to be president. Cheers!

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are into military history or reenactment this is the book for you, if you are looking for a good biography of Zachary Taylor, look elsewhere. Bauer drones on the minutia of each battle, and insignificant pieces of information (for example the sitting arrangement at Taylor’s funeral). The book is littered with “could have been but we don’t know” and surprisingly in the 1980’s still uses the word “hostiles” to refer to Native Americans. Additionally, he will include reference to lesser known information and events like the “Wilmot Proviso” and “Galphin Claims” with the assumption the reader already familiar. My only saving grace is having read other books on this period.