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Jackson
Andrew Jackson - war hero and spokesman for the frontier, the first president from west of the Alleghenies, the first born in a log cabin - fought his way to the White House. Once there, he stood for the rights of common citizens, founded the Democratic Party, expanded the powers of the presidency, paid off the national debt, and postponed civil war by prevailing against the advocates of states’ rights. By today’s standards, however, Jackson was hardly politically He also owned many slaves on his Tennessee plantation and sponsored the Indian Removal Act, which triggered the brutal forced march of tens of thousands of Native Americans to Oklahoma. Here is his story.
116 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 17, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 20, 2019
I picked this up on Amazon for very little, and it's been sitting on my tablet and to-read list for ages.
It is a very brief and mostly one-dimensional biography of the seventh president, surprisingly so given how polarizing Jackson was. The story is told in very broad strokes, with episodes like the Trail of Tears, Nullification Crisis, bank veto, etc. barely discussed. In the ebook, there are numerous links for people or events that go directly to Wikipedia. I've never seen that before in a biography. The thing is, the Wiki articles were often more interesting and in depth than the book.
Something else that I find confusing is that the copyright on the book is 2015. (Goodreads shows 2014, but the ebook says 2015.) Ralph Andrist died in 2004 from complications of Alzheimer's according to the obituary I found on-line while trying to find out more about the author. Ironically, there is no Wiki page for the author, but another site I found with a bibliography does not show this as one of his books. Amazon does show a book called Andrew Jackson: Soldier and Statesmen that appears with a similar cover, so may be the original print edition. It was published, per Amazon's info, in 2000. If it is the same, Mr. Andrist would have been 86 years old and probably well into dealing with the affects of Alzheimer's. It seems unlikely he would have tackled such a project given those circumstances. Maybe this was a manuscript from his earlier days, or maybe it explains why it is not a very in depth or insightful biography of Jackson.
It is a very brief and mostly one-dimensional biography of the seventh president, surprisingly so given how polarizing Jackson was. The story is told in very broad strokes, with episodes like the Trail of Tears, Nullification Crisis, bank veto, etc. barely discussed. In the ebook, there are numerous links for people or events that go directly to Wikipedia. I've never seen that before in a biography. The thing is, the Wiki articles were often more interesting and in depth than the book.
Something else that I find confusing is that the copyright on the book is 2015. (Goodreads shows 2014, but the ebook says 2015.) Ralph Andrist died in 2004 from complications of Alzheimer's according to the obituary I found on-line while trying to find out more about the author. Ironically, there is no Wiki page for the author, but another site I found with a bibliography does not show this as one of his books. Amazon does show a book called Andrew Jackson: Soldier and Statesmen that appears with a similar cover, so may be the original print edition. It was published, per Amazon's info, in 2000. If it is the same, Mr. Andrist would have been 86 years old and probably well into dealing with the affects of Alzheimer's. It seems unlikely he would have tackled such a project given those circumstances. Maybe this was a manuscript from his earlier days, or maybe it explains why it is not a very in depth or insightful biography of Jackson.
October 17, 2019
This is an ok biography of Andrew Jackson, but certainly not a great one. It has some basic flaws.
1. The author's own viewpoint/opinion imposes itself on the text, as is visible in numerous places by the choice of language.
2. The details of important items, such as the nullification crisis, the fight over the national bank, and the Trail of Tears are all glossed over. Not addressed in any depth at all, and certainly not with the depth to allow the reader to understand both sides of the issue.
3. Sources, bibliography and references are all simply missing.
This cannot be considered a good history.
As one of many books read about Jackson? It's ok. As the sole book to read about Andrew Jackson? I do not recommend this book.
1. The author's own viewpoint/opinion imposes itself on the text, as is visible in numerous places by the choice of language.
2. The details of important items, such as the nullification crisis, the fight over the national bank, and the Trail of Tears are all glossed over. Not addressed in any depth at all, and certainly not with the depth to allow the reader to understand both sides of the issue.
3. Sources, bibliography and references are all simply missing.
This cannot be considered a good history.
As one of many books read about Jackson? It's ok. As the sole book to read about Andrew Jackson? I do not recommend this book.
December 30, 2024
If you want something less than the typical LONG WINDED Presidential bio, this should be right up your alley. It as just enough info to get the gist of who Andrew Jackson was. He was, IMO, a really good President, despite most Lib teachers hate him. We could use more folks like Jackson in politics today.
June 28, 2025
balanced perspective
Great book on Andrew Jackson’s, it reads like a novel but is packed with insight on Andrew Jackson’s adventurous life. The perspective by the author is balanced and fair decrying Jackson’s failures and successes in equal measure.
Great book on Andrew Jackson’s, it reads like a novel but is packed with insight on Andrew Jackson’s adventurous life. The perspective by the author is balanced and fair decrying Jackson’s failures and successes in equal measure.
August 27, 2017
Quick, easy, and informative. Sometimes felt like I was reading cliff notes, but enjoyable.
January 17, 2020
It was a great reads tor learn about Jackson’s possiive role in te development of our country.
March 15, 2017
I read this on my Nook. Great insight into this controversial past President. I enjoyed reading about his efforts as a General, that he was a true American hero. Got a solid idea of his personality. I did want to know more about his connection to the American Indians and the Indian Removal Act. The book just brushes over that, but there are books available about that topic alone. But as an overview of his life and an examination of Jackson as a man, this was worth the read.
April 12, 2016
Very nice overview of Jackson with proper historical context--at 100 pages, much more comprehensive than Wikipedia, but short enough to be very manageable. The book covers both the good and bad traits of Jackson--Trail of Tears, crashing the economy, standing up to foreign countries behaving badly, beating off nullification and succession. It explained why Jackson had so many allies and enemies, and why he was so popular with the people. The author tries to remain mostly unbiased, although he concludes at the end that Jackson was a great president for consolidating power (a statement which needs more justification from my point of view) and for bringing a political voice to the people.
April 2, 2015
It depicts many sides
The author vividly states the multi-faceted personality of this man. His shortcomings are not ignored. He was one of our greatest presidents and just what this country needed at that time.
The author vividly states the multi-faceted personality of this man. His shortcomings are not ignored. He was one of our greatest presidents and just what this country needed at that time.
April 16, 2015
Great book!
I felt like this book was very accurate and told interesting accounts of his life and politics. I was so disappointed to hear how he treated the Indians who were the original owners of the lands and were never given what any of the treaties they signed.
I felt like this book was very accurate and told interesting accounts of his life and politics. I was so disappointed to hear how he treated the Indians who were the original owners of the lands and were never given what any of the treaties they signed.
November 10, 2016
Excellent, no non-sense bio of the man & his time. Both the good & the bad. His story without any of the frills. Highly recommended!
October 26, 2023
The book was well written and seemed well researched. Jackson was definitely a tough person who endured a lot but I didn’t have a favorable assessment of the man, after reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews