American Lion : : Andrew Jackson in the White House

Locations
Call Number: 921 Jackson, Andrew, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Political Figures / Jackson, Andrew
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	921 Jackson, Andrew	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	921 Jackson, Andrew	4-week checkout	Due 04-27-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Political Figures / Jackson, Andrew	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Political Figures / Jackson, Andrew	4-week checkout	On Shelf

A thought-provoking study of Andrew Jackson chronicles the life and career of a self-made man who went on to become a military hero and seventh president of the United States, critically analyzing Jackson's seminal role during a turbulent era in history, the political crises and personal upheaval that surrounded him, and his legacy for the modern presidency.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Not the Book I was Looking For submitted by Jan Wolter on August 21, 2013, 1:05pm Reading this book made me want to read a good biography of Andrew Jackson. Maybe I've been spoiled by Caro's Johnson biography, Morris's Roosevelt, and McCullough's Adams, but this really didn't meet my expectations. Part of the problem may be that Meacham doesn't seem to want to tell the whole story of Jackson's life and instead only wants to focus on his presidency. The first chapter does describe Jackson's life up to that point, but in an oddly sketchy way, focusing on Jackson's relationships with friends and family, and almost entirely ignoring his actions in the political and military realms. For example, the Battle of New Orleans was the occasion that brought Jackson to fame. Meachum describes in detail how General Jackson took leave of his friends and family before the battle, he then recites the casualty statistics for the battle, and then he describes the speeches Jackson gave afterwards. No a single detail of what the General actually did during the battle appears.

There are many descriptions of what Jackson believed or how he thought, but these are often supported by only a single anecdote. For all I know, Meachum is correct about all this, but I'd prefer to see a lot more focus on what Jackson did and said, and less on Meachum's interpretation of Jackson.

I confess I didn't make it past the first few chapters. Maybe it improves a lot as it settles down to tell the story of Jackson in the White House. But it seems weird to me that hardly any description is given of the campaign that got Jackson into the White House. I know presidents in those days didn't campaign in the way they do now, but they didn't just land in the White House by accident either.

Maybe the goal is more to make points about political history and the impact Jackson had on transforming the presidency, rather than to present a biography of Jackson. That might be a worthy goal, but it's not the book I'm looking for.