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| Surprised by other reviewsI have to say that I was very surprised when I read some of the other reviews for this. I thought this was a great book. I read that some people thought that the love triangle was not believable. I have to disagree. Unfortunately I've actually found myself in that particular predictament and I have to say that I felt a lot like her. And it's not always easy to see exactly what the right choice is, even if it seems obvious to everyone else. I thought it was a rather realistic depiction. I find it annoying that people review things like this, acting all holier than thou, even though I'm sure they've never written or tried to write a novel. I've read a great deal and there have been good books and bad books, but I always respect the attempt. I loved this book. It was completely fitting with the entire series and for those of you who didn't like it, that's your opinion, but I respectfully disagree. If you've never read this book and you're thinking about it, don't base your decision about whether to read it or not on those people who reviewed it badly. Read it and decide for yourself.
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| A Very Timely VolumeI very much enjoyed reading Meacham's biography on Andrew Jackson. In the past few years there have been a series of biographies about the men that made America and shaped her ideals - from Chernow's brilliant Hamilton Biography to others on Adams, Jefferson, etc. Hopefully Americans will gain more familiarity with this very interesting and complex man and the times he lived in.
With Jackson, Meacham chose a remarkably good target at the present time with our recent economic troubles. Jackson is the man that killed the Second Bank of the United States, leaving the banking system in the United States in a state of uncontrolled chaos up until the creation of the Federal Reserve System. The US banking system remained in a weakened state leading up the Great Depression with thousands of small, under capitalized banks that were ripe for panic and depression in the 1930s. Jackson left a very long legacy indeed.
Meacham's Jackson will not satisfy history junkies and people wishing to dive deeper into the subject. Meacham is not a life long Jackson biographer and the material at times stops too soon. An example of this occurs during the Eaton affair where the wife of the Secretary of War becomes the centerpiece of scandal and occupies a great number of pages in any Jackson biography. The first time reader would dismiss this episode and wish to get back to the great issues of the day, while missing out on the significance of the whole episode. While Jackson persists at great length in trying to rehabilitate the secretary's wife while doing great damage to his own family, in the end the affair leads to the demise of the presidential prospects for John Calhoun, the fiery state's rights advocate and champion of the nullifiers, whose election may have lead to the break up of the United States.
The rupture between Calhoun's wife and Eaton's wife leads to estrangement between Jackson and Calhoun. Eventually Calhoun appears to regain Jackson's trust and decides to publish a set of papers exchanged with Jackson with the purpose of destroying Martin Van Buren, his rival. Calhoun fully informs Eaton about his intentions thinking Eaton would relay the information to Jackson. Instead, the Eaton whose wife has been savaged by Calhoun's wife and the other high society types refrains from telling Jackson, leading Calhoun to his own demise. When Jackson saw the publication his response was "They have cut their throats." Jackson would face down the nullifiers and John Calhoun would never become president. This episode should have been explored further.
The relation of Jackson and Van Buren, referred to as "the Magician" could be much more fully explored. Whatever Jackson, the rough hewn southerner saw in the artful wire puller from New York is still mysterious. Van Buren's "masterpiece" is his withdrawal from Jackson's cabinet, which conveniently moved Van Buren into a better position to angle for the presidency, while giving Jackson the benefit of the resignation of his poor friend Eaton and the Calhoun supporters in his cabinet - all the while maintaining his standing with Jackson. A complete tour de force!
Another area where the book was lukewarm was Jackson's facedown with the nullifiers. More emphasis should have been placed on the military pressure that Jackson put on the South Carolina with the realization that he planned a lightning fast campaign against them and many of them would soon be hanging from trees. Jacksonian was well known for his brutality in duals, the Florida campaign and elsewhere making everyone acutely aware of what he was capable of. Henry Clay's legislative moves to deprive Jackson of his triumph in reality gave the nullifiers a way out. They would take these lesions to heart when they tried secession 1860.
Jackson is a fascinating character at times capable of ruthless brutality, while at other times being tender loving family man dotting about the children with motherly care. This book will do much to give the reader a feel for the contradictions and virtues in this remarkable man.
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