Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times
Brian Cordes

H.W. Brands‘ biography of Andrew Jackson is an exceptional work, which brings to life not only the man on the twenty dollar bill, but the era in which he lived. The book details Jackson ’s life, from birth until death, while illuminating significant events and other factors, which played into his circumstances and decisions. Brands takes a neutral stance regarding Jackson and his legacy throughout the book. Information in the book is presented as a matter of act while not condemning nor promoting many of Jackson ’s more controversial aspects.

H.W. Brands’ style has become synonymous with exhaustive research and lengthy lists of further reading. His reputation holds true in this book, as there are over 40 pages of citations. Brands uses primary sources throughout the book as the principal foundation on which the biography is built. The words of both Andrew Jackson and his contemporaries are woven throughout the book. Jackson’s correspondence are referenced at length throughout. Such thorough and scholarly work make for an easy point to begin further research about Andrew Jackson, or the time in which he lived.

Brands organized the book chronologically. It breaks Jackson’s life up into six different sections which are approximately the same number of years of his life. I found this method of organization did well in accomplishing the goal of providing an exceptional look into the life and times of Andrew Jackson. There are a couple of maps at the beginning of the book which help to cement the reality of early 19th century America in the reader’s mind. One map gives the reader a geographical glimpse of the battle fields mentioned on Jackson’s campaigns. Another map outlines America circa 1845. I found both maps to be quite useful as a reference and reality check. America looked quite different on paper at a time when Tennessee was referred to as out west, and those maps helped to keep that in the forefront of my mind. The book includes some portraits in the middle which are nice if only to put a face with a name while reading. While there are no foot notes or citations in the text, it may be for the best as the extensive citations would clutter up the book and make it more difficult for the reader to navigate smoothly through.

Brands leaves few proverbial stones unturned during the course of the book. Details include his run-in with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War at which time he received a scar that he carried thereafter. Brands delves into Jackson’s marital predicament, in which he may, or may not have, married a woman who was at the time married to another man. The duels which were the result of personal affronts to Jackson, regarding the situation, are also covered in depth. The true length of dueling coverage, being measured in furlongs, becomes quite apparent with the mention of the Burr Hamilton duel. It is interesting that Jackson has many subsequent run-ins with fellow dualist Aaron Burr.

Perhaps one note of criticism can be leveled toward the book, in the fact that it skims the surface of his later Presidential years. This fact is understandable, if not inevitable given the nature of the book and its length. The aforementioned citations section at the back of the book is both highly useful and most certainly appropriate for the large catalogue of work collected for the book.

H.W. Brands is a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Brands has written many historical works including The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream, and Lone Star Nation: How a Ragged Army of Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence - and Changed America. While Brands presents a very comprehensive picture of Andrew Jackson from his formative years until death, the length of the book is simply not enough to make this the definitive work on Andrew Jackson. I would prefer to see a multivolume work which is able to get deeper into Jackson’s life, while doing as much justice to the times in which he lived, as Brands does in this work. Brands impartial style leaves something to be desired in regard to the more controversial aspects of Andrew Jackson.

The coverage of the events leading up to the Trail of Tears is sufficient enough for a person to best those, in a spirited conversation, who haven’t done any real reading about the topic. This is a simple game given that most have yet to realize that those events occurred nearly two years after Jackson left office. However, the Trail of Tears portion of the book skims the surface enough that the reader wants much more, given its impact on history, versus other events in the book.

Toward the end of the day, one is satisfied with the fact that the book achieves its goals, despite the limitations of numbered pages. I am currently unaware of any book which gives the detail I have mentioned, and this book will hopefully provide the impetus for such a task to be carried out. I have noted other books about Jackson appearing on the shelves in the history section of my local booksellers after the release of this work. Perhaps Brands’ book will eventually inspire a definitive multivolume account of Andrew Jackson’s life, rather than more imitations of this exceptional work which are finding their way onto the shelves.