Andrew Jackson

Douglas Brinkley

In Robert V. Remini's Andrew Jackson (one in a series of slender books on "great generals," edited by Gen. Wesley K. Clark) the official historian for the House of Representatives expertly limns Jackson's qualities as a military leader.
—The Washington Post

Library Journal

Whether seen through the lens of his own time or of ours, Andrew Jackson remains a complex figure, one who has been both praised and cursed from his own era up to today. Remini, the prize-winning author of a multivolume biography of Jackson, proves a good choice for Palgrave's "Great Generals" study of Jackson from a military perspective. Remini maintains a birth-to-death narrative while keeping the focus on Jackson's fundamental existence as a soldier. The result is a fine introduction based on years of advanced knowledge on the subject, distilled by Remini into a very good read. His Jackson is a man with a will of steel and unwavering vision who was first and foremost a fighter and a military commander. The battles in which he fought left their influence on the United States, physically, morally, and politically. General Clark's foreword offers a concise preview that effectively connects the book with the other books in this series. For a good story, a clear understanding of a formative-and controversial-figure in American history, this volume is strongly recommended for high school, college, and public libaries. [See the Q&A with Gen. Wesley Clark (ret.), left.]
—Suzanne Lay

Pol. Science Quarterly

Persuasive and well documented.-- Political Science Quarterly

Kirkus Reviews

A slim account of Old Hickory's military career by a leading historian of the period. Remini (History/Univ. of Illinois at Chicago; The Life of Andrew Jackson, 2003, etc.) leans over backward to see the world through his subject's eyes, but he cannot conceal that Jackson (1767-1845) was perhaps America's most disagreeable great figure: touchy, belligerent, prejudiced, provincial. The hatreds of his youth (foreigners, Indians, banks, the Eastern establishment) stayed with him until his death. Yet he was unquestionably a charismatic leader. As a general, Jackson was more notable for energy and aggressiveness than tactical skills; fortunately his enemies played to these strengths. Moving to frontier Tennessee in his 20s, he prospered, becoming the state's first congressman, but he disliked politics and resigned a year after being elected to the Senate. More to his liking was election as a Tennessee militia commander in 1802. He proved an implacable Indian fighter, and although Jackson's victories over the indigenous peoples make depressing reading for us, they delighted his contemporaries. By the outbreak of the War of 1812, he was a national figure. When British forces obligingly committed suicide by charging his strongly fortified lines at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, he became America's most popular hero since Washington. Given an independent command, he promptly invaded Florida, pursuing Indians and abusing Spanish officials. While this produced enemies in Washington, most Americans cheered, and Jackson's presence encouraged Spain to give up the territory in 1819. He retired in 1821, but supporters were already planning another career. Remini's contribution to the GreatGenerals series is hasty, enthusiastic and marred by such lowbrow devices as invented dialogue. Less satisfying than the author's longer works or the more recent biography by H.W. Brands. First printing of 50,000

From the Publisher

“Lucid and straightforward, it will no doubt prove useful to cadets and military buffs of all ages. . .Remini is a scrupulous and honest researcher.”—New York Review of Books

"Remini, the prize-winning author of a multivolume biography of Jackson, proves a good choice for Palgrave's "Great Generals" study of Jackson from a military perspective. . . . [A] fine introduction based on years of advanced knowledge on the subject, distilled by Remini into a very good read. . . . General Clark's foreword offers a concise preview that effectively connects the book with the other books in this series. For a good story, a clear understanding of a formative—and controversial—figure in American history, this volume is strongly recommended." — Library Journal

"Robert Remini, the greatest Jackson scholar alive, offers a long-overdue reevaluation of Jackson's military career. Writing with customary brio, Remini brings to life Jackson's battles and wars, but goes further to enlarge Jackson's reputation as a strategist and tactician, and to suggest how those skills aided him in his later political career. Here is a fine addition to what is turning into an excellent series of military biographies." — Sean Wilentz, Princeton University, award-winning author of The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln

"Andrew Jackson's preeminent biographer has written a compelling narrative of Jackson's remarkable military career, judiciously sown with telling anecdotes that bring him to life. Jackson's iron will and genius for leadership leap from the pages." —Joseph Wheelan, author of Mr. Adams's Last Crusade: John Quincy Adams's Extraordinary Post-Presidential Career

"This Andrew Jackson biography is as exciting as it is important, and shows how a very complex military was molded from frontier clay during America's formative years." — Donald A. Davis, bestselling author of Shooter and Kill Zone

"In prose that is characteristically clear and often stirring, America's foremost expert on Andrew Jackson and his time sheds new light on an as yet unexplored side of Old Hickory — the relentless military man." — Alan Pell Crawford, author of Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson "When it comes to Jackson . . . there are few who have such a masterly command of the sources as Mr. Remini [who] kept me up late at night reading and causing me to wonder why, with narrative history such as this, anyone bothers to read historical novels." — Roger D. McGrath, The Wall Street Journal "Robert Remini, the dean of historians of Andrew Jackson, has done it again. In this vivid, insightful, and illuminating study of Jackson the general, Remini paints a revealing portrait of Jackson in the field. This is an essential book for anyone interested in one of the greatest and most controversial military leaders in American history. And on top of all that, it is a sprightly, entertaining read." —Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek