I am an avid history reader so I really enjoyed this one pacing and all. If you don't typically read history rich books, this might be a struggle for you and feel like it drags on. This book was very well researched and had lots of insights that I enjoyed.

A fantastic history of the rise of Andrew Jackson. The Heidlers do a fantastic job of examining Jackson's rise to popularity and electoral success. Given our tendency to simplify history, and the popularity of certain leaders, this book does a great job of getting to the root of Jackson's popularity, and how he and his surrogates used the media, press, and other tactics to promote him. One of my favourite history books in a few years.

How much does the pre-Presidential career of Andrew Jackson match that of Donald Trump? That's the question that this book attempts to answer.

There are undeniable similarities: not only were they both semi-literate blowhards, and they (and their followers) often wore their semi-literacy with pride, apparently believing it was a sign that they were uncontaminated by the confusing thoughtfulness which occasionally hampers the educated. Both were racists in pronouncement and policy. Both felt that any misfortune that befell them was a result of a wide-ranging conspiracy, and never, ever entertained the possibility that the fault was in themselves.

Meanwhile, the partisans of Jackson and Trump proved themselves expert at spinning out baseless slanders and repeating them over and over with a straight face, while the opposition vacillated between declaring itself above that sort of behavior and inexpertly attempting to reproduce it.

However, I have to say that this book fails to convince completely, because of the many obvious differences between Jackson and Trump. I don't think it will surprise anyone that Jackson, in spite of being a slave dealer and slaughterer of Native Americans, still comes out looking like the superior man. For example, he apparently remained faithful and loving throughout his life to the rustic country woman he married before he became famous. He apparently listened to his wife's advice during times of bad temper and turned away from violence in word and deed as a result. Jackson was a genuine war hero. Even if you didn't like his war, there was no denying that he led his troops from the front and often put himself in the same harm's way which he demanded of his troops.

Jackson also seemed to inspire genuine loyalty in the tight-knit group of Nashville men who planned his propaganda and stroked the press. In return, Jackson allowed his "Junto" to do their job effectively without a lot of second-guessing and unnecessary off-the-cuff public statements. When men starting working for Jackson, they usually stay for a long time.

I conclude that Andrew Jackson and Donald Trump are NOT similar enough in temperament to merit thinking that a study of Jackson's behavior and policies will give the reader some sort of insight into current events. However, this is a reasonably well-written book that goes deep in the weeds about the politics of its day, up to Jackson’s first inauguration day. I am a bit of a history nerd so I enjoyed it but it may tax the interest of non-nerds.

The book seemed sometimes more readable, sometimes less. It was sometimes hard to keep members of and machinations of Jackson's inner circle straight, but the pace and interest often picked up by the introduction of new characters like Martin Van Buren, or by the narration of dramatic events, such as Jackson's procession by steamboat down the Mississippi to attend the thirteenth anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.

My apologies to Basic Books and Netgalley for waiting so long after publication to review this free egalley copy. I understand that the point of advance copies to generate information about the book before, or about the time of, the publication. I'll try to be more punctual.

If you are NOT a history reader regularly this one may drag for you. If you ARE a history reader regularly it may drag but the insights from interactions with lessor known characters will be worth the effort.

I enjoyed the book, but not as much as I thought I would.

It was very well written, with many historical things crammed into the book.

Andrew Jackson was an interesting political figure and quite good at the things he did for our Country and fighting the Indians.

I will recommend the book for historical background and to find out things many people would not know if they did not read the book.

I rated it 3 stars.

This was a pointed examination of the making of Andrew Jackson. The research was great and their revelations on his development were illuminating. The underlying topic or elephant in the room if you will is its close similarity to our current political climate. It was as much a page Turner as a historical subject can be. We survived the Jackson era with all its ideological and cultural upheaval, We can survive the current environment when cooler heads will prevsil.

Written by  David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, this novel takes a more unique writing angle compared to other Jackson biographies as this book looks at his life and actions through a number of third party view points. People whom I have never heard of, but who interacted with Jackson. This biography also take a few liberties, which I enjoyed and appreciated, of considering what those people thought of Jackson.
An excellent book for anyone looking for a more in-depth book about Jackson and really want to look at how he was perceived by others during his time and not just his actions.



I received this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This a a passionate and well-researched look at essentially, the giant PR venture that was getting Andrew Jackson elected. Stances on Andrew Jackson have really changed in modern times as people tackle his presidential legacy and look beyond the reputation that was built around him. This book is a great look at how that reputation got built. I definitely recommend this book. It's readable enough for public libraries, but scholarly and narrow enough for academic ones as well.

I managed 75% of this before giving up but I read enough to be able to give my view on it. The way it was structured was done very well and I liked how they chronicled Jackson's life. I've read another autobiography on Andrew Jackson and this one was not as interesting that. The writing of this is drier and felt very difficult to get through. It took me two weeks to get through 300 pages and it felt like a struggle. There were passages that dragged and several chapters that flew by. It's a shame i did not like it more but that was down to writing style.