Avg. Customer Rating:(based on 7 reviews) Sales Rank: 12 Category: Book
Author:Jon Meacham Publisher:Random House Studio:Random House Manufacturer:Random House Label:Random House Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published) Media: Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 512 Shipping Weight (lbs): 2 Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.7
Publication Date: November 11, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days) Release Date: November 11, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Product Description Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about the man who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson?s election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made its stand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson?s presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House. Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he details the human drama?the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers?that shaped Jackson?s private world through years of storm and victory.
One of our most significant yet dimly recalled presidents, Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will?or face his formidable wrath. The greatest of the presidents who have followed Jackson in the White House?from Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to FDR to Truman?have found inspiration in his example, and virtue in his vision.
Jackson was the most contradictory of men. The architect of the removal of Indians from their native lands, he was warmly sentimental and risked everything to give more power to ordinary citizens. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe?no matter what it took.
Jon Meacham in American Lion has delivered the definitive human portrait of a pivotal president who forever changed the American presidency?and America itself.
Exclusive Amazon.com Q&A with Jon Meacham and H.W. Brands
On the eve of the historic 2008 presidential election, we were fortunate to chat with historians Jon Meacham and H.W. Brands (author of Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt) on the similarities of their presidential subjects and how the legacies of FDR and Jackson continue to shape the political world we see today.
Amazon.com: One of Andrew Jackson's childhood friends once remarked that when they wrestled, "I could throw him three times out of four, but he never stayed throwed." How emblematic is this of Jackson's career?
Meacham: Utterly emblematic. Jackson was resilient, tough, and wily, rising from nothing to become the dominant political figure of the age. He was crushed by his loss in 1824, when, despite carrying the popular vote, he was defeated in the House of Representatives. But, tellingly, he began his campaign for 1828 almost immediately, on the way home to Tennessee. And he won the next time.
Amazon.com: What would Jackson think of Franklin Delano Roosevelt?
Meacham: I think they would have gotten along famously. It is difficult to imagine men from more starkly different backgrounds?to take just one example, Jackson lost his mother early, and FDR was long shaped by his mother?but they both viewed the presidency the same way: they both believed they should be in it, wielding power on behalf of the masses against entrenched interests.
Amazon.com: How important was Jackson's legacy to FDR's Presidency?
Brands: Jackson was FDR?s favorite president, and Jackson?s presidency was the one Roosevelt initially modeled his own after. FDR saw Jackson as the champion of the ordinary people of America; he saw himself the same way. He compared Jackson?s battle with the Bank of the United States to his own battle with entrenched economic interests. And just as Jackson had reveled in the enmity of the rich, so did Roosevelt.
Amazon.com: Although both were regarded as champions of the people, their backgrounds were drastically different. FDR hailed from a wealthy and politically-connected family, while Jackson was an orphaned son of immigrants. How did each manage to endear themselves to the voters of their day?
Meacham: Jackson was in many ways the first great popular candidate. He had ?Hickory Clubs,? and there were torchlit parades and barbecues?lots and lots of barbecues. Jackson helped mastermind the means of campaigning that would become commonplace. He also intuitively understood the power of image, and kept a portrait painter, Ralph Earl, near to hand in the White House.
Brands: FDR combined noblesse oblige with felt concern for the plight of the poor. His polio had something to do with this?it introduced him to personal suffering, and it also introduced him, in Georgia, where he went for rehabilitation, to poor farmers unlike any he had spent time with before. He came to know them and to feel the problems they faced. He took people in trouble seriously and communicated that seriousness to them.
Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the apex of power November 22, 2008 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I would highly recommend this book to everyone. I looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation and began reading it as soon as I received my copy. This book gives great detail about Jackson's ancestry and early life of hardship; including the loss of everyone close to him. Meacham does a wonderful job telling the story of how Jackson improved himself by studying law, his rough journey west to Tennessee, his difficulties of life on the frontier in the late 18th and early 19th century, his military career, and of course his presidency, which was pivotal in American history and helped define a new age of American politics. The section on Jackson's post-Presidential years seemed to be glossed over a bit, probably for the purpose of keeping the book under 600 pages, but nonetheless was very good.
For a book of philosophy I would highly recommend Understanding: Train of Thought.
Fascinating Journey of a Fascinating Man November 20, 2008 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
As I write this review, I can peer over to the two shelves of books that I have just on one president alone; that being Abraham Lincoln. With the 200th anniversary of his birthday coming up next year, so many books have been focused on him, his legacy, his marriage, and even his time as president-elect. So it was with great surprise that I found this biography of Andrew Jackson. And it was an even greater surprise that I found it enchanting.
Jon Meacham's Andrew Jackson is rough, brilliant, difficult, and all together human. Meacham's writing attempts to avoid deifying the man, but tries to give insightful glimpses into his character and presidency. Sometimes biographies like this get bogged down in too many details and the minute factoids that only the most ardent fans find remotely interesting. Meacham paints a bigger portrait than that. By focusing mainly on Jackson's time in the presidency, it frees him up for a more specific yet more encompassing vision of Jackson.
I admit that my basic content knowledge of Jackson is sorely lacking (well, compare to Lincoln, that is) but after reading Meacham's page-turner of a book, I must admit my appetite has been whetted by yet another interesting character in our history. I can see this making a great Christmas gift for the history buff or biography lover in your life!
Arthur Schlesinger Part II November 17, 2008 43 out of 135 found this review helpful
In 1945 Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote the "Age of Jackson". It was a naked attempt at giving the Democratic party another hero they could hold up against the Republican's Lincoln. This wasn't the first time a Democratic propagandist had deliberately distorted history in order to give the party a competitive icon. A generation before Schlesinger's book, Claude S. Bowers resurrected the much discredited Thomas Jefferson in his ridiculously unbalanced book, "Jefferson and Hamilton - The Struggle for Democracy". Thus began the century long idolatry of Jefferson which is just now slowing down. The problems with this reinvention of historical characters for the purpose of contemporary political identification is that they inevitably pose someone as a villain. So Hamilton, whose reputation when Bowers book was published was much greater than Jefferson's, has been seriously battered to make Jefferson look like a champion. And with Jackson, it's Henry Clay who has to be destroyed even though any fair minded analysis of the time would identify Clay's American System (which Jackson opposed) as the most important contribution to the growth of America's economy. So now we have Meacham trying to pull the same con on the American reading public. To make matters worse, Meacham is no where near the writer Schlesinger was. The success of these light weight populist hisotrians like Meacham and Doris Kearns Goodwin is disturbing on many level. They have been embraced by television so completely that I fear their distorted view of history will take us further away from the truth. There are some good historians on the left - I loved Gary Wills' book on Jefferson and slavery. But, unfortunately, the likes of Goodwin and Meacham are the ones that get the attention. By the way, Andrew Jackson was the closest thing to a fascist we've every had in the White House, but you won't learn that from Meacham.
Outstanding historical portrait of Jackson November 15, 2008 13 out of 18 found this review helpful
One can only judge this book on the quality of writing and thoroughness of the research. Mr. Meacham does not disappoint on either.
American Biographer: Jon Meacham November 14, 2008 22 out of 23 found this review helpful
American Lion is a wonderfully crafted biography about an incredibly interesting and oft-overlooked American who helped shaped this country. Meacham evenhandedly discusses the good, the bad, and the really ugly and comes up with a revealing and insightful study of a truly fascinating subject. I highly recommend American Lion and Meacham's other books, American Gospel and Franklin and Winston, for the subject matter and his insightful and exceptional literary style.
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