Watch Program
Read Transcript
Buy DVD/VHS
Info: Our guest is Robert Merry, author of the new biography of our 11th president, James Polk. The title of the book is "A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent." Polk was a one-term president, elected in 1844. His mark on history includes the idea of "Manifest Destiny," expanding the United States from coast to coast. The book also focuses on the two-year war with Mexico.
Robert Merry has been a journalist in Washington for 35 years including President and Editor in Chief of Congressional Quarterly and a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. His previous books include "Sands of Empire: Missionary Zeal, American Foreign Policy, and the Hazards of Global Ambition," and "Taking on the World: Joseph Alsop--Guardians of the American Century."
