I struggled to get through this book, just because I don't have a lot of time to read these days so I read it 3 or 4 pages at a time. I think I would have gotten more out of it if I could have read a chapter at a time - I would have retained more from sitting to sitting.

It was pretty interesting how these 3 Senators were so representative of the 3 sections of the country (New England, the South & the West) for so long, and how the Legislative branch was so powerful compared to the Executive branch through a series of relatively weak Presidents. It was also interesting how they all wanted to be President but never attained it.

It also illustrated how important (and really dominant) the tariff issue was in politics throughout the history of the country - and how intertwined the slavery issue became with economic issues.

I've always been interested in Henry Clay, because he was the political icon Lincoln looked up to. This book helped put his career and accomplishments in context with some of the other key figures of the time.

I bought this book at the U.S. Capitol bookstore and on the inside cover I pasted the sticker we got with the date and time of our Capitol tour, so I'm going to keep this as a permanent part of my bookshelf and pass it down to one of my kids someday.