I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Very interesting read and informative! Highly recommend for history buffs

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this work.

I wanted to know more about Calhoun. In these highly politically charged times, it is important to better understand how we "got here".

This was a very well done work on a now controversial figure. Like it or not, Calhoun played a large role in US History. This book is extremely well-researched and written. Definitely recommend. I learned a ton from it.

An interesting and engaging biography of an important and oft-peripheral character in American political history. Elder does a very good job of providing a well-researched, quite readable biography of Calhoun. Recommended for anyone with an interest in this period of history.

This is an excellent biography of a controversial figure in American life; it manages a delicate balance between explaining and excusing, and sheds light on the many evolutions, from "internal improvements" to Calhoun's rationale for slavery (from acceptance to the famous 'positive good' case.) It's not a book of political theory (though some more explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the 'concurrent majorities' thesis wouldn't have gone amiss) but situates Calhoun as a thinker and profound influence on the American South. Compelling written, masterfully researched, and sufficiently complicated to pay tribute to its complicated subject.

John Calhoun had a major part in the South seceding from the Union. His doctrine was a guiding principal back at the time and unfortunately his views have become popular with those on the extreme right of our political spectrum today. I knew that Calhoun was a polarizing historical figure, but the author's great writing allowed me to learn just how polarizing he was. This book is relevant to our current environment, so I recommend anyone looking to understand more to read this.

A long overdue biography of this American vice president. A must for anybody interested by 19th century American politics and government,and the years preceding the Civil War. Robert Elder gave us a magnificent portrait of a complex American politician during a tumultuous period of American history! Like we say in French: "Chapeau!" (Bravo!)

This book really opened my eyes to John Calhoun. Growing up in the south, I had only ever known the name but never heard of what he had done or even why I knew his name. This book really sheds light on what legacy Calhoun left. If you like Jon Meacham or Andrew Roberts writing style, you will like this author as well.

During a time when America is in the process of rediscovering and reevaluating key figures and events of the American history which contribute to our self-understanding today, Robert Elder’s Calhoun: American Heretic is a timely contribution.

For the average student learning American history, Calhoun’s name is one of those that emerges in one period and then has a way of reappearing at major moments. He was a U.S. Representative during the War of 1812, Secretary of War in the post-war period, Vice President to two opponents (of each other and at times him), Secretary of State and Senator. As he moved across time and those positions, so too did he undergo changes in his political positions.

Elder masterfully traces the long, shifting and consequential public life of Calhoun and his relationships with the leading men of America. He also provides insights into the man and his familial relations. Perhaps one of the greatest assets of this work is how Elder describes the complex legacy of Calhoun up to the present day.