Rating: 
Summary: An all too brief summary of Jackson's life.
Review: "The Life of Andrew Jackson," written in 1988, is an abridgment of Robert V. Remini's masterful three-volume Jackson biography comprised of "Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Empire;" " Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Freedom;" and "Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Democracy." Normally, I shy away from reading single volume abridgments of multi-volume works. In this particular case, I ended up reading the shorter version AFTER I had finished Remini's longer, more detailed triptych. As abridgments go, "The Life of Andrew Jackson" is decently written. It encapsulates the long and controversial life of Andrew Jackson clearly and succinctly. Unfortunately, it has one glaring flaw: it lacks much of the fine detail I look for in presidential biographies. Exactly who was this extraordinary man who became our nation's chief executive? Born in 1767 in South Carolina, Jackson was Revolutionary War hero by age 12. As a young man, in Tennessee, he became a lawyer, judge, major general of the Tennessee militia. He made his fortune as a land speculator; married the great love of his life, Rachel Donelson. He killed at least two men while fighting several duels; the wounds he received while duelling caused him lifelong pain. Jackson gained national stature as a military hero. His most famous victory came on January 8, 1815, at the end of the War of 1812. It was there he led American forces to an overwhelming victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. After losing in the 1824 Presidential election to John Quincy Adams, Jackson was elected President of the United States in 1828; a champion of majority rule in America, he passionately believed that the office of President was the only one that represented all the people, and that the president must be obedient to the will of all the people. Jackson's party became the Democratic party that lasts to this day. His political opponents became "National Republicans," then "Whigs," and finally, in the 1850's, the Republican party that exists today. When Andrew Jackson died in 1845, at age 78, his legacy was vast indeed. He left behind an America transformed by democratic principles; a nation which had taken its rightful place among the nations of the world; a nation of peace and prosperity. But, also a nation about to be riven by the simmering dual controversies of states' rights and slavery. Robert V. Remini's biographies of Andrew Jackson are imbued with the highest degree of scholarship, and brilliantly capture the essence of this towering figure in early nineteenth century history. Because Remini uses a wonderfully conversational writing style, the pace of the story never flags and the reading never becomes dry or stuffy. That's true even when Remini discusses political and economic issues. "The Life of Andrew Jackson's" primary flaw is its brevity. I think Remini cut far too much detail from this abridgment to do Jackson the level of justice he deserves. It touches too lightly on many aspects of Jackson's life and times. I got the feeling that "The Life of Andrew Jackson" was deliberately left too short in order to encourage readers to opt for the three-volume set. If you only want to familiarize yourself with the basics of Andrew Jackson, without going into any substantial detail, "The Life of Andrew Jackson" is the ideal book for you. You'll find a neat, brief encapsulation of the man and the President. If you'd like the broader, "meatier," more detailed story of our nation's 7th president: skip "The Life of Andrew Jackson" and go directly to Remini's much longer but much more detailed three-volume biography.
Rating:
Summary: An all too brief summary of Jackson's life.
Review: "The Life of Andrew Jackson," written in 1988, is an abridgment of Robert V. Remini's masterful three-volume Jackson biography comprised of "Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Empire;" " Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Freedom;" and "Andrew Jackson: The Course of American Democracy." Normally, I shy away from reading single volume abridgments of multi-volume works. In this particular case, I ended up reading the shorter version AFTER I had finished Remini's longer, more detailed triptych. As abridgments go, "The Life of Andrew Jackson" is decently written. It encapsulates the long and controversial life of Andrew Jackson clearly and succinctly. Unfortunately, it has one glaring flaw: it lacks much of the fine detail I look for in presidential biographies. Exactly who was this extraordinary man who became our nation's chief executive? Born in 1767 in South Carolina, Jackson was Revolutionary War hero by age 12. As a young man, in Tennessee, he became a lawyer, judge, major general of the Tennessee militia. He made his fortune as a land speculator; married the great love of his life, Rachel Donelson. He killed at least two men while fighting several duels; the wounds he received while duelling caused him lifelong pain. Jackson gained national stature as a military hero. His most famous victory came on January 8, 1815, at the end of the War of 1812. It was there he led American forces to an overwhelming victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. After losing in the 1824 Presidential election to John Quincy Adams, Jackson was elected President of the United States in 1828; a champion of majority rule in America, he passionately believed that the office of President was the only one that represented all the people, and that the president must be obedient to the will of all the people. Jackson's party became the Democratic party that lasts to this day. His political opponents became "National Republicans," then "Whigs," and finally, in the 1850's, the Republican party that exists today. When Andrew Jackson died in 1845, at age 78, his legacy was vast indeed. He left behind an America transformed by democratic principles; a nation which had taken its rightful place among the nations of the world; a nation of peace and prosperity. But, also a nation about to be riven by the simmering dual controversies of states' rights and slavery. Robert V. Remini's biographies of Andrew Jackson are imbued with the highest degree of scholarship, and brilliantly capture the essence of this towering figure in early nineteenth century history. Because Remini uses a wonderfully conversational writing style, the pace of the story never flags and the reading never becomes dry or stuffy. That's true even when Remini discusses political and economic issues. "The Life of Andrew Jackson's" primary flaw is its brevity. I think Remini cut far too much detail from this abridgment to do Jackson the level of justice he deserves. It touches too lightly on many aspects of Jackson's life and times. I got the feeling that "The Life of Andrew Jackson" was deliberately left too short in order to encourage readers to opt for the three-volume set. If you only want to familiarize yourself with the basics of Andrew Jackson, without going into any substantial detail, "The Life of Andrew Jackson" is the ideal book for you. You'll find a neat, brief encapsulation of the man and the President. If you'd like the broader, "meatier," more detailed story of our nation's 7th president: skip "The Life of Andrew Jackson" and go directly to Remini's much longer but much more detailed three-volume biography.
Rating: 
Summary: Electrifying!
Review: After Washington and Lincoln, Andrew Jackson is possibly the most important President in American history, and the most over looked. This book is an abridgement of the author's three volume biography that took 15 years to write. But unlike other abridgements, this one is really quite excellent. Our first populist president, the first one to truly break the choke hold Virginia's aristocracy had on the formation and development of the early republic, Andrew Jackson was the first Chief Executive to put the American people first. Remini's Jackson is a man of incredible contrasts. Egotistical yet selfless, hateful yet tender, his devotion to his country is so intense that it borders on chauvinistic. Reckless in the extreme, his explosive temper makes one wonder how he managed to accomplish anything at all. Yet his accomplishments are so paramount and his impact on the development of the early United States so indelible that he has managed to leave a legacy of goodness, of uncorrupted power, second to none. We should all know more about Andrew Jackson. More than any other President he stood fast for the American people. God help the person or country that stood in the way of his serving his people and defending his Nation.
Rating: 
Summary: An unresonable and biased view
Review: ALthough his writing is fair, I have found Mr. Remini to be a biased bigot who injects Jacksons already tarnished character with further polution. Not a fan of Jackson myself, I am appaled by Reminis worshipful attitude. Any author that encourages the annihilation of the "savages" (Indian) does not belong in the 21st century, and his books do not deserve to be on paper. Remini fails sorofully when tring to excuse Jacksons shortcoming and inflate his victories. I give one star for his mediorcor writing ability, and none for content.
Rating: 
Summary: Making lemonade from a 19th Century lemon?
Review: Andrew Jackson looked like a bit of a lemon (as far as the American voter was concerned) when he went into the White House. When he came out, he looked much better. How did he do it? This is a careful condensation of Remini's 3-volume work on Jackson that incorporates the result of more recent scholarship and research. Remini describes our 7th President's struggle to overcome his reputation as a violent and vengeful man who was almost a social outcast in Western Tennessee. Remini analyses Jackson's shortcomings, which include some very human mistakes, and his inability to bring Texas into the Union. Emphasizing that Jackson "served the American people extremely well" by preserving the integrity of the Union, saving the government from misrule, and liquidating the public debt, Remini shows why Jackson was more popular when he left the White House than he was when he went in. Don't look for an in-depth political treatise here but you will find sufficient material to give you a well-rounded, sympathetic look at a complicated man in an equally complicated time. It's not meant to be comprehensive -- you'll find that in the larger work -- this is meant to be what it is. It's a fascinating, readable and entertaining story of how that political turn-about happened, written by one of America's foremost biographers.
Rating: 
Summary: There must be something better than this
Review: As an avid reader of historical biographies and history - my favorite author is Paul Johnson - I found this book to be a biased piece of work, written in the most narrow style. No doubt the author spent time on his subject, thus the two stars, but his personal views (interjected throughout the text) were offensive and unnecessary tripe. I am a Jackson fan and I believe that he is a true important American hero to be admired and understood IN HIS TIME. So often authors are biased from a position of their own era - which surprises me since historical happenings must be viewed relative to the era in which they occurred. I also read New Orleans 1815 by Tim Pickles: another book that was written with the author's bias. I got the book to pass on to the kids, but thought that I would read it first. I definately won't pass it on. I am still searching for a good Jackson book.
Rating:
Summary: Andy,..quite a man
Review: Better than fiction, just good reading, entertaining and interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Sad to be finished...felt like I knew the man
Review: I enjoyed every page of this biography. Jackson was an amazing man, who, like Theodore Roosevelt, wore so many hats during his lifetime, frontiersman (sorta), attorney, congressman, general, war hero, President...rebellious at times, pensive and practical at others...born out of the families of Ulster, this Scots-Irish president was one our greatest American gems. The book made me wish I had read the whole three volume, unabridged version. The writing at times was a bit akward, not sure if the author is from the US or Europe, but otherwise well written, specific, full of footnotes, quotes, etc. Gives you a real feel for what was going on. Bravo...now I'm off to Madison and Monroe.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent one-volume work
Review: I'll start by admiting that I'm not exactly an Andrew Jackson fan. He seems to me to be arrogant, egotistical and has a habit of refusing to listen (with any real seriousness) to differing views on a subject once his mind is already made up. I still hold these views, but Remini presents to us a man who is much more than the one-dementional figure described above. Like most, I have low expectations of a book that is a one volume version of mulitple volumes (Remini cut 1600+ pages into under 400). They tend to simply give a recap of the events of the subjects life without much explaination or connection between events. Happily, Remini's book does not fit that stereotype. In the introduction, Remini says that he keeps in mind that this will most likely be read casually by people mildly familiar with Jackson. He therefore specifically points to events in Jackson's life and tell the reader, "this is important because later Jackson will remember this and..." He does this from the earliest days of Jackson's life; admitting that Jackson was a bully of sorts, Remini also says that he might not be so abrasive if he had the influence of his father (who died before Jackson was born) or if he didn't have to rely on charity from his uncles and aunts to survive. Through this technique, Remini gives the reader a fuller view of Jackson and how the many circumstances of his life come together to produce a unique man. Along with the man's characteristics mentioned in the first chapter, Jackson is also extremely patriotic, devoted to the Christian religion, slightly paranoid, in constant pain from bullets lodged in his body and a refusal to let himself rest, a workaholic, and an excellent strategist. While I do agree with some that Remini could have elaborated more with regards to certain issues (the question "Was Jackson right to attack the bank? What were the long lasting effects? Were there other options?" etc.), it was not especially necessary, considering his goal was to introduce people to Jackson's life, not so much his life and times or legacy. In sum, this is an admirable one volume treatment of one of America's most complex United States presidents and war heroes. If you're looking for a one-volume biography of Jackson, I don't imagine you would find many better.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent one-volume work
Review: I'll start by admiting that I'm not exactly an Andrew Jackson fan. He seems to me to be arrogant, egotistical and has a habit of refusing to listen (with any real seriousness) to differing views on a subject once his mind is already made up. I still hold these views, but Remini presents to us a man who is much more than the one-dementional figure described above. Like most, I have low expectations of a book that is a one volume version of mulitple volumes (Remini cut 1600+ pages into under 400). They tend to simply give a recap of the events of the subjects life without much explaination or connection between events. Happily, Remini's book does not fit that stereotype. In the introduction, Remini says that he keeps in mind that this will most likely be read casually by people mildly familiar with Jackson. He therefore specifically points to events in Jackson's life and tell the reader, "this is important because later Jackson will remember this and..." He does this from the earliest days of Jackson's life; admitting that Jackson was a bully of sorts, Remini also says that he might not be so abrasive if he had the influence of his father (who died before Jackson was born) or if he didn't have to rely on charity from his uncles and aunts to survive. Through this technique, Remini gives the reader a fuller view of Jackson and how the many circumstances of his life come together to produce a unique man. Along with the man's characteristics mentioned in the first chapter, Jackson is also extremely patriotic, devoted to the Christian religion, slightly paranoid, in constant pain from bullets lodged in his body and a refusal to let himself rest, a workaholic, and an excellent strategist. While I do agree with some that Remini could have elaborated more with regards to certain issues (the question "Was Jackson right to attack the bank? What were the long lasting effects? Were there other options?" etc.), it was not especially necessary, considering his goal was to introduce people to Jackson's life, not so much his life and times or legacy. In sum, this is an admirable one volume treatment of one of America's most complex United States presidents and war heroes. If you're looking for a one-volume biography of Jackson, I don't imagine you would find many better.
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