American Lion

Richard McGonagle's warm baritone does much to improve this sometimes chatty and unabashedly pro-Jackson history which focuses, almost exclusively, on the White House from 1829 to 1837. The Jackson presidency, it seems, can be characterized as a series of personal feuds, more or less connected to policy conflict. To his credit, McGonagle makes no attempt to bring to life the authors of the numerous letters, journal entries, and speeches that make up the heart of the book. Rather, he presents the text as it is in an even, accessible tone. The narrow focus of the book, Jackson's presidency, makes it relatively easy for the listener to keep track of the characters. F.C. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine


John Mayer's warm, deep voice and unhurried pace are pleasantly lulling as he reads Meacham's exquisitely constructed narrative on the life of our seventh president, Andrew Jackson. Mayer effectively uses a mild Southern accent when he reads quotations from Jackson, who was born in the Carolinas. While Jackson's story is complex, Mayer's smooth narration and Meacham's deft storytelling make listening almost effortless. Meacham portrays Jackson as a pivotal figure whose decisions preserved the Union and ensured that it would develop as a nation that answers to ordinary people rather than elites. While Jackson clung to slavery and treated Native Americans harshly, his legacy also includes transforming the presidency into the center of American politics. E.D.R. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine