Book Reviews and Notices set by his forebears. Not having the natural endowments of a politician that were possessed by his father and grandfather, and being basically skeptical of politics as he saw it on the American scene, yet desirous of attaining eminence comparable to that of his two direct progenitors, and seeing no other way to achieve this objective than in politics, he found himself in a state of frustration and indecision almost constantly in his early life, and recurrently in his later life. " A complex personality, full of moods and given to fits of hypochondria, basically introspective and aloof, he seemed not to know where to take hold, and in his early years, he was often taken severely to task by his father for his shortcomings. The suicide of his elder brother, George, and his marriage to Abigail Brooks, in 1829, gave him a new sense of purpose in life and crystallized a driving desire for self-improvement which he rigorously followed thereafter. If it had not been for the influence and the presumed mandate of the family name, Charles Francis would have preferred a life of literary pursuits, especially the editing of his father's and other family papers. But conscience and family tradition urged him on to espouse some of the urgent political causes of the day, such as anti-Masonry and antislavery, including the fight against the extension of slave territory. He was therefore driven to politics and, in due course, became a "perennial candidate," always on the urging of friends and frequently against his will, because of his innate fear that he might not measure up. Had Adams been, less strait-laced in his principles and a little more outgiving in his personality, he could probably have enjoyed a more successful political career. Even so, he served five years in his State legislature and, in 1858, was elected to Congress, soon becoming one of the leaders in the move to conciliate the Southern States threatening to break up the Union. The high point in Charles Francis' career came with his appointment as Minister to Great Britain in 1861, thanks to Seward's insistence, and contrary to President Lincoln's wishes. His services in helping to preserve the peace between this country and Great Britain have been generally regarded as outstanding. James Russell Lowell said of him some years later: "None of our Generals in the field, not General Grant himself, did us better or more trying service than he in his forlorn outpost of London." This opinion has been "widely shared by others. Professor Duberman, while paying tribute to Adams's achievements in London during the Civil War, both for his tactful handling of Seward's often intemperate notes and for his skill in dealing with Foreign Minister Russell, nevertheless says the record does not justify the acclaim that is given Adams in connection with the major crisis in our relations with Britain during the war, namely, the building of the two armored ships (the "Laird rams") for the Confederates and their threatened departure 421