The Passions of Andrew Jackson

by Andrew Burstein

Book Overview

Most people vaguely imagine Andrew Jackson as a jaunty warrior and a man of the people, but he was much more--a man just as complex and controversial as Jefferson or Lincoln. Now, with the first major... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375414282
• ISBN13: 9780375414282
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.2" x 6.6" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

An interesting viewpoint

I found this book to be a very interesting if unflattering take on Andrew Jackson. The title is revealing-this book is primarily intersted in what made Jackson tick. This isn't done with new age psychoanalysis but by looking behind the actions Jackson took. Thus there is considerable time spent on Jackson's duels, physical confrontations and his political battles. Because of this there may be an imbalance in the book towards the negative actions Jackson took-such as his duels, disregard for military or political authority and his actions towards even his allies among the native americans. However the book makes it clear that it was these very traits that made him the General and President that he was. For a more positive and comprehensive book on Jackson read Brands book. Beter yet read them both.

The perfect biography for me

If you are looking for a biography that takes you inside the head of the man, explains what makes him tick and how he managed his personal life and career, in as few pages as possible, this is it. If you want a thousand pages of historical broken-glass-studded factoids raked over your eyeballs in excruciatingly slow motion, look elsewhere. Personally, I prefer the former style of bio. The 325 pages read as 225. When I had finished I felt like I really knew Jackson, his relationships, and what about him contributed to his achievements. By contrast, I reached the same point after a mere 700 pages of D'Este's Eisenhower bio - which spared me from having to read the last 165 pages!

Purposes of a Biography

Biographies concentrate on many subjects - detailed analysis of actions and their motives, character studies, descriptions of times and events or, as in this case, an examination into what motivated the seventh president of the United States to do and say what he did. I sympathize with reviewers who castigate the author for skimming historical events, but he plainly states that the purpose of this book was an explortaion of the early 19th century mindset and what makes it so "American" and even compelling to this day. As a Tennessean, where AJ takes on demigod status, I judged the author to be harsh but in the end, just. The question persists - were his "passions" atypical of the times? One must remember that Jackson's life encompassed the most important years of the nation. A Revolutionary War incident forever soured his view of Britain. He witnessed the founding of the Republic, the settling of the West, the coming of age of the body politic. He may be a grand - even great - figure but his flaws are legendary and it is these upon which Burstein dwelled. Whether it was slavery, duels, treatment of Indians, inability to compromise, hot temper or pattern of blaming others for his own mistakes, AJ fares poorly. What is missing is that inner self so brilliantly illuninated in recent books on Franklin, Hamilton and Adams. What caused his monomania over the US Bank, why could he never accept criticism, keep friends? In a sense, he was a "modern" politician - opponents were not simply mistaken but instead were morally corrupt. It is the politics that is missing. I mean, he was President for two terms through sheer force of will. A diehard Jeffersonian, a believer in an agrarian American, a populist, a foe of "special interests", a defender of states rights. His ideas changed once in office and that in itself would have made for good reading. All in all, a good overview.