Here's a book my girlfriend got me last Christmas that I have been working on basically ever since. It's sort of a biography, but only starts just before Andrew Jackson won the 1828 election, already at about sixty years old. The book goes into great detail regarding his personal life, claiming that Jackson was incapable of separating it from his political life. He was a very stubborn man. When the book dealt with historical goings-on, I enjoyed it. It was great to learn about the Indian Removal Act and Nullification Crisis, among other things, through the words and actions of Jackson and his allies and enemies. But when the book spent too much time on Jackson's personal life, I must admit, I became bored enough to start skimming. There's really not a ton to say about it, other than that author Jon Meacham (editor of Newsweek) has certainly put in his time and effort to research all kinds of 170-year-old letters and documents in order to perfect his biographical story. Kudos to him. If you're a huge history buff, or even a fan of personal politics and gossip, this is a book I bet you'll like. Otherwise, stick to the condensed version: a few pages from any American history textbook.
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