Jackson's Way: Andrew Jackson and the People of the Western Waters

by John Buchanan

Separating fact from myth, the author resurrects the remarkable Andrew Jackson and his rise to American hero., bringing to life the thrilling details of frontier warfare and of Jackson’s exploits as an Indian fighter.

Genres: Biography

434 pages, Hardcover

First published January 22, 2001

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazone

Great book
10/10

I received Jackson's Way: Andrew Jackson and the People of the Western Waters as a gift from a family friend for Christmas. It was on my list of books to buy and I love it. It is also much larger than I expected for the price.

D. Westhouse

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A Very Different Account
8/10

John Buchanan has written a most interesting book. Spanning the thirty year period 1780-1810 he covers a time of great uncertainty about just what to do with the existing and projected geographical definition of the fledgling United States.

Aaron Burr was not the only person to think in terms of separation. Today, driving on Interstate Highways at 70 MPH through the Appalachian Mountains, it is difficult for us to understand just what an impenetrable barrier these mountains really were.

No less a figure than Thomas Jefferson thought "whether we remain one confederacy or form into Atlantic and Mississippi confederacies I believe not very important to the happiness of either part."

No wonder then that the people of the west, as the west was then defined, drew so closely together and became such an interdependent, insular block. Surrounded by enemies (Great Britain on the North, Spain to the South and West and indifference from their own countrymen to the East), land locked with no natural outlet for their goods and agricultural products and at constant war with Native Americans, this, the fastest growing segment of the US population, was threatened with extinction.

Thus, the setting was a tinder box with a truly separate people ready for that particular leader whose interests were not just aligned with but also coincident with their own.

Andrew Jackson was such a man. This is a story of survival, a story of great personal courage, of a very independent people who hacked their homes and way of life out of a true wilderness.

t is a story of how the foundations of the Jacksonian Era were so firmly laid that the 34 year history of the Virginia Dynasty was so completely crushed in American politics that it never resurrected.

An oft overlooked, misunderstood or just plain ignored segment of American history, these thirty years in the west were pivotal to the development of early America. Andrew Jackson was truly THE man, a most amazing force to be reckoned with, and an American to the very core of his soul.

Michael E. Fitzgerald

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Jackson, everyman's hero, today's leaders pale by comparison
8/10

The reader gets two stories for the price of one in "Jackson's Way." The first 150 pages tell the story of America's expansion West to the Mississippi River with objective and rich detail about the conflict and trials of both settlers and Indians, but little about Andrew Jackson.

The book is also a good balance between modern apologists and proponents of manifest destiny.

The second story describes Andrew Jackson the soldier and general, mostly Andrew Jackson the consummate leader. I can list with the fingers on one hand the really good books about leadership, this book fits in that count. If you're tired of sniveling and self serving politicians and generals driven more by bureaucracy and pomp than fighting skill and tired of selfish chief executive officers raking in million dollar stock options while laying off thousands of workers without adequate severance compensation then meet Andrew Jackson as described by author John Buchanan.

If you teach history and want to see students sitting on the edge of their seats instead of falling asleep then this book is for you too.

The story describes in detail battles in the Mississippi River watershed during the war of 1812 culminating with the Battle for New Orleans (1814-15) when we whupped the British tail. Buchanan describes Jackson's leadership traits in a way that readers in virtually any profession can relate.

DEG

[Wayne Abrahamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweeping account during the expansion of America beyond the Appalachian Mountains, and into the trans-Appalachian-west. The historic narrative presents Andrew Jackson in the light of a courageous Indian fighters and brilliant protector from a British invasion during the War of 1812 and the Creek Indian War. In the end, while the author tended to be a bit repetitive, the work is worthwhile taking up space on somebody's bookshelf as historical source or reference when needed.

[Mark Cheathem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed this book for a journal several years ago. I'm rereading it for the AJ bio I'm working on. From what I remember, Buchanan gets repetitive with information and reading cues ("as we read in ch, 3," "as we will see later," etc.).

[Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the real indian wars and the Andrew Jackson -- the man.