Andrew Jackson

Our seventh president, was quite a character--war hero, brawler, lawyer, carouser, and militant "small-d" democrat. H.W. Brands, of the University of Texas at Austin, presents a detailed, lively, and partisan look at Old Hickory's life, times, and legacy. He makes the period a time of high adventure and Jackson a daredevil hero of the common man. It's all good reading, if not objective history, and the tome gets spirited treatment from narrator John H. Mayer, whose virile, expressive baritone seems particularly apt for the subject. He seems to be discovering the book as he reads, and enjoying every syllable in the process. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine


Old Hickory, our seventh president, was lauded as the father of "by the people, for the people" democracy. Nevertheless, this is a warts-and-all bio, showing Jackson as a slaveholder who was also fiercely anti-Native American; he was involved in a controversial marriage and, often, controversial politics. Jackson's pre-presidency years are covered more thoroughly and with more zest than his later years, but Brands's one-volume biography is thorough. Unfortunately, Chuck Montgomery's narration lacks color and dramatic impact as it is delivered in the pedantic voice of a history lecturer. However, his presentation is certainly serviceable, and Brands's dynamic saga is an experience in American politics not to be missed. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine