Reviews for Andrew Jackson: A Biography

The average rating for Andrew Jackson: A Biography based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-02-06 00:00:00 Randall Hilliard I came into this book with the desire to learn more detail of General Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans, as well as the Second National Bank Busting in which President Jackson took during his first term as President. I have known through peripheral reading that the Treaty of Ghent signed in Ghent, Belgium on 14 December 1814 took a whole month to reach Andrew Jackson; Major General Jackson would defeat the British for New Orleans on 8 January 1815. The Treaty took another month for ratification. Ratification of the Treaty of Ghent occurred in February 1815. My second interest in this book was the National Bank busting that later President Jackson undertook – simply put – he did not like the influence the Bank had on American Politics, and he did not care for the fact that the average American had no stake in this bank. In this manner, he understood that the Second Bank of the United States was a monopoly that had to be busted – he succeeded. This book provides a good look at these two events, and all other major events during the life of Andrew Jackson. I would like to thank a contact of mine Sharon for her recommendation of the Remini book; I plan to read the abridged larger volume later. I now have a desire to delve deeper into the life and times of President Jackson as a result. This book was published in 1966 – it is therefore not a logical reason to like or dislike any President because of President Jackson. He was honorable to the time to which he lived. He proudly wore a scar over his head from an injury during the American Revolution he received from a British Officer. If you are looking to see if President Jackson is a topic you would like to read and learn about in a deeper context – then I encourage you to read this book. Thanks again Sharon!

Review # 2 was written on 2017-02-20 00:00:00 David St. Laurent Let me make clear my criteria in rating and reviewing this book: first, I picked this up because I needed a short but reliable read on Andrew Jackson to fill my knowledge gap in the time period and understand the comparisons made with him and President Trump, and secondly with an understanding that this is a compact political biography and not the full treatment of the man. Remini can (and has) give an all encompassing account, but I just do not have the time for it. So, with that in mind, I give this book four stars for largely meeting expectations and being enjoyable. Jackson is in the national mind again, and with good reason. As I read somewhere recently (not in this book), the times are Jacksonian. People are fed up with the perceived aristocracy and are desperate for a real leader of the average man. We see it in both parties. And it resembles the era of Jackson well. The man's goal, above all else, was to level the aristocracy of pull (as Ayn Rand might put it) and make the government an honest broker for all men. Jackson would thrive today. He knew how to do politics as well as any in his day and knew especially to pander to the common man. But there is more to it than that: Jackson was from a common stock himself, was closely associated with common folks on the frontier, and seems to genuinely believed his own rhetoric. He most certainly was not a rich man playing a role. And his history backs up his courage and fortitude, genuine aspects of who he was. When someone tried to assassinate him, Jackson's response was to beat the tar out of the fellow! The hero of New Orleans had a long history of military experience and dueling to put his personal courage beyond question. The times are Jacksonian, but our current President is not. He seems to know how to play the masses, but he is not one of them, nor does he possess the true grit of Andrew Jackson. Nor does he seem to have the same genuine faith in that message; from our current President, it often sounds cheap, unearned. One cannot accuse Jackson of that, whatever his other (many) faults. As to the issues of the day, great focus is placed on the Nullification Crisis and the Bank War. The former isn't as relevant today, but it is important to understand that Jackson was a nationalist first who had no love for nullification or rumors of secession. In the Bank War, Jackson would find friends in the like of Senators Warren and Sanders, as he meant to destroy this institution for political reasons. In fairness, the Bank of the United States was abusing its financial leverage to impact elections and Congressional votes, but the victory of Jackson put the nation on an unsound financial footing for decades to come. It is one thing to remove a dangerous institution, another to replace its important functions. This is a condensed book. For anyone looking to have the questions answered that I did, I would absolutely recommend it. Anyone looking for the full treatment, the sad "the end of this book almost feels like the end of a life" emotion, will need to go elsewhere.