I enjoyed most of this book, but found it inconsistent. Some parts extremely interesting - especially the portion on President Polk. For instance the White House was considered completely public, so he had difficulty working. Also, there was much insight into a little know president. Other parts were tedious, such as the older ancestors. All in all I thought it was an interesting way to portry history. The author used an extremely interesting and accomplished family to walk us through the decades and centuries.

I was given this book as a birthday present six months ago. I did not read it at that time because I did not think I would be that interested in it. Boy was I wrong. Once I started reading I could not put the book down. The book truely brings to life the history of America in a very engaging and entertaining way. I recommend this book to anybody who is interested in history or those who just enjoy a good book.

Being new to Charlotte, NC, I've started reading up on the history of Western North Carolina -- I borrowed this book from the library as the Polk family has been very prominent in this area. It was much more than I had expected: the whole panorama of the history of the United States to recent history told in terms of the people involved, and the Polk family has been very involved since early colonial days. The only era not touched on was the Spanish-American War! Well worth an addition to my personal library