Critical Book Review Robert Remini’s Andrew Jackson

Robert Remini’s biography of Andrew Jackson is a book with only 225 pages, probably the shortest biography on Jackson written. This book is a great book for high school or college level students. When reading this book you may come to the conclusion that Remini is a fan of Jackson, he summaries Jackson’s life from childhood to his death, greatly focusing on his achievements and talking briefly about his failures.

Remini used quite a bit of resources in researching Jackson’s life. He states in his book that his references come from the following. Columbia University Library, Library of congress, Harvard University Library, Massachusetts Historical Society, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City, New York Public Library, New York State Library, Albany, Princeton University Library, and Tennessee State Library, Nashville. You can find this work cited page in the back of the book under notes.

Remini covers Jackson’s life in all of 10 chapters. The book discusses issues from the controversy of where he was born to how he was captured by British and later released, to when he is appointed to the U.S congress and Senate. Remini talks about how Jackson leads the Florida expedition, his quest of becoming president, his wife Rachel dying and how he defeats the British at the Battle of New Orleans. Also you will read on how Jackson took down the Second Bank of the United States, Ends the national Debt, and escapes an assignation attempt and his death.

Robert Remini wrote this book, he is a Professor of Hickory and Research Professor of Humanities Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of many books, including a definitive three-volume Andrew Jackson biography for which he won the National Book Award. Some can say that Remini is a bit obsessed with Jackson’s life. He sees Jackson as a hero and that is why when reading this book you can see how bias he is with all of his accomplishment and how he focusing so little on his failures. Even though this book was well written and is very informative, and a great way to understand Jackson’s life through a short book, Remini wants the world to see Andrew Jackson through is eyes and the way he sees him as hero. While others may feel that Jackson was a terrible man and the negative things he had done outweighs his triumphs. Either way you look at it it’s your view on Jackson.

As far as thesis, this book doesn’t have on seeing that a thesis is the specific argument that the author has made about her or his subject. And in this book Remini doesn’t state any arguments on Jackson. This book is a biography on Jacksons life, his trials and tribulations, there is no evidence in this book that supports what a thesis is.

This book was written in 1966. And just like any other book the time period does influence Remini’s interpretation of Jackson’s life. If Remini had written this book during Jackson’s time period he may have felt differently. It’s hard to say seeing you are looking at 18th century living through 21st century glasses. The way of life back then was completely normal to them and to people living in this day and age almost can gasp at their way of living and their actions. But this just doesn’t apply to Remini’s book of Andrew Jackson this has to do with anything written now. No matter how much historians can prove you will never truly know how it was to live the life of terrible and heroic people of the past. So people like Remini try their hardest to understand what research has proven to fabricate a biography, but no matter what you will always get the authors feelings for this person in the book whether it is good or bad.

After reading this book you may have a different perspective on Jackson good or bad, but regardless of what you may think of Jackson the book is an overall well written book. Remini takes you on a journey throughout Jackson’s life. Even though Remini is a fan of Jackson and you can see that in his writings of him, he is an excellent author and this book is a nice short easy read book. Another title Remini could have labeled this book is Andrew Jackson for Dummies.