American Lion
By
Jon Meacham
Read by
Richard McGonagle
Release:
11/11/2008
Runtime:
17h 18m
Unabridged
Quantity:
What passes for political drama today pales in the reading of Jon Meacham’s vividly-told story of our seventh president. The rip-roaring two-fisted man of the people, duelist, passionate lover, gambler and war hero, was also a prime creator of the presidency as the fulcrum of executive power to defend democracy…Meacham argues that Jackson should be in the pantheon with Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln for this and for his role in preserving the Union and rescuing democracy from elitism. He makes the historian’s case with wit and scholarship but Meacham also has the novelist’s art of enthralling the general reader much as David McCullough did for the lesser figure of John Adams. Reading “American Lion” one is no longer able to look on the gaunt, craggy face on the $20 bill without hearing the tumult of America in the making.
Tina Brown
Winner of Pulitzer Prize, 2009
Winner of Pulitzer Prize, 2009
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive biography of Andrew Jackson, a larger-than-life president who defied norms, divided a nation, and changed Washington forever
“Marvelously readable … brings alive a profoundly flawed but dazzlingly charismatic American original.”—USA Today
Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. He gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson’s presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham draws on newly discovered family letters and papers, detailing the human drama—the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers—that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of storm and victory.
Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will—or face his formidable wrath.
Jackson was the most contradictory of men. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe—no matter what it took.
“Marvelously readable … brings alive a profoundly flawed but dazzlingly charismatic American original.”—USA Today
Beloved and hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 ushered in a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites, were the guiding force in American politics. He gave voice to the hopes and the fears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times at home and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson’s presidency, acclaimed author Jon Meacham draws on newly discovered family letters and papers, detailing the human drama—the family, the women, and the inner circle of advisers—that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of storm and victory.
Jackson was a battle-hardened warrior, the founder of the Democratic Party, and the architect of the presidency as we know it. His story is one of violence, sex, courage, and tragedy. With his powerful persona, his evident bravery, and his mystical connection to the people, Jackson moved the White House from the periphery of government to the center of national action, articulating a vision of change that challenged entrenched interests to heed the popular will—or face his formidable wrath.
Jackson was the most contradictory of men. He was, in short, a lot like his country: alternately kind and vicious, brilliant and blind; and a man who fought a lifelong war to keep the republic safe—no matter what it took.
Release:
2008-11-11
Runtime:
17h 18m
Format:
audio
Weight:
0.0 lb
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781415957127
Publisher:
Penguin Random House
Praise