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lararunningwild's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
What an exceptional book.
dtab62's review against another edition
3.0
I like most of Jon Meacham's work, but this just seemed to miss the mark a bit with me. It seemed to concentrate as much on his niece as on him and his work. As far as books on Andy Jackson go, I preferred H.W. Brands' biography to this, although I would still recommend it. Just not highly.
mjlopez128's review against another edition
2.25
I thought the author made some odd choices in the focus and perspective of the book. He seemed to present President Jackson as a past-his-prime side character within political and family events of the time. In short, a person to whom things happened rather than a strong personality who could impose his will and drive initiatives. I'm not a historian, but I had the impression that the stereotypical view of Jackson is more toward the latter. It didn't seem like the author was making a point that Jackson was less forceful than his reputation, just that Meacham's focus was elsewhere. The author also spends an inordinate amount of pages on the social intrigues of family members. The seemed to be an attempt to bring in "new research", but it wasn't that interesting and further took the focus away from Jackson.
hollyrenee13's review against another edition
3.0
I read the first half of this book and liked it, but I am just not into the second half. I am putting it down for now, but hope to go back to it.
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
3.0
Meacham chronicles Andrew Jackson's precedent-setting time in the White House and the chosen family that supported him through those years, with all their related dramas.
I had trouble getting into this for a lot of personal reasons, but the narrative might have been a little tighter as well. Still, this was a solid look at Jackson's years in the White House, with enough background from his earlier years to give context and a satisfying catalog of all the major players years following Jackson's presidency.
I came into this knowing surprisingly little about Jackson and left it feeling like I had a good basic understanding as well as an interest in learning more once I'm back in a frame of mind to handle presidential biographies again.
I had trouble getting into this for a lot of personal reasons, but the narrative might have been a little tighter as well. Still, this was a solid look at Jackson's years in the White House, with enough background from his earlier years to give context and a satisfying catalog of all the major players years following Jackson's presidency.
I came into this knowing surprisingly little about Jackson and left it feeling like I had a good basic understanding as well as an interest in learning more once I'm back in a frame of mind to handle presidential biographies again.