I agree with the other poster that the first half of the book dragged on and on about the Eaton affair. Even if that was the major influencing factor of Jackson’s first term in office history continued to happen around the White House. I was left with the impression that Meachem had limited material when he did the research for the book.
I did gain a better impression of who Jackson was after reading the book. History has painted him as the “most uneducated” President and the book does a good job presenting Jackson’s intellectual powers.
I particularly disliked how the author added his perspective of “right” and “wrong” in the book. I don’t care to read a biographer’s opinions when I want to learn about a historical figure.
I’m an avid reader of biographies and my favorite biographical authors are Isaacson, McCullough, and Chernow. My next biography will be McCullough’s Truman.
Meachem doesn’t hold a candle to any of those biographers and how this book made the Post’s “best” list is beyond me.
