In the preface of the book The Life of Andrew Jackson the author/editor says something like: Since any self-respecting American citizen already has an in-depth knowledge of the life of Andrew Jackson, this book aims to add glorious detail. I am paraphrasing completely, but the author’s sentiment in that particular paragraph stopped me cold. Seriously, before reading this book my knowledge of Andrew Jackson was limited to the following two facts and a few guesses which I put in parenthesis. He was nick-named “Stonewall” Jackson because he stood like a stone wall in the face of enemy fire (Indians?) and inspired his troups to prevail. (French and Indian war? or War of 1812? not sure on that one). He later became president. That’s it. I didn’t even know which state he was born in (North Carolina). Suffice it to say my knowledge of this man was significantly less then in-depth…
After reading The Life of John Knox, I was super excited to read this book by the same publisher. The Life of Andrew Jackson is almost twice as long, but still I found it captivating as historical biography and I learned so much. The early part of the book has a brief account of Jackson’s youth and deals with Jackson’s history of fighting against the Indians. Jackson served briefly as the governor of Florida, and then resigned both this position and his comission as a general in the army due to his health. Shortly after this he was pressed to run for president but refused and ended up serving a term in the Senate before running for President in 1824 and losing to John Quincy Adams in a very controversial elections in which Jackson received the largest number of votes but no one person obtained a majority forcing a second vote by congress under the laws at that time. Finally, he was elected to the Presidency in 1828, the same year in which his beloved wife died. The second half of the book is devoted to the various accomplishments and controversies Jackson experienced he was in office.
My Bottom Line: I love this series of books being reprinted by Attic Books. I think they will make excellent living history books for my children when they reach high school; as I find myself learning a great deal which prompts me to ask “What in the world did they teach me in that school?” So far, each book has been a highly detailed historical biography worth saving for future generations.
Leave a Reply