This Encyclopedia of Presidents volume on Andrew Jackson included reproductions of several political cartoons and pamphlets from the heated elections in which he was involved. For example, there is an anti-Adams campaign booklet circulated by Jackson's supporters during the 1832 presidential race, as well as several anti-Jackson political cartoons, all of which would make fairly interesting handouts for young students studying the Jacksonian Age and the birth of the Democratic Party. Jackson was the first presidential candidate to win the popular vote three times in a row, but the first time around he did not have an electoral majority. When John Quincy Adams cut a deal with Henry Clay, it was Adams who won the White House. Given what happened in Florida in the 2000 election, certainly young students will be interested in all these political machinations.

Alice Osinski begins this juvenile biography of Jackson as all volumes in the Encyclopedia of Presidents begin, with a defining moment from the subject's life. For Jackson it is his inauguration in 1829, when crowds of rowdy citizens were welcomed into the White House. Although Jackson is called "The Frontier President," the lesson is clearly about his populism, where his election was seen as a victory for the common man. Chapters are devoted to Jackson's youth, how he made a success of his life on the frontier, and his celebrated efforts during the War of 1812. His two terms as President are divided into the Birth of the Democratic Party, which covers the infamous Trail of Tears of the Cherokee nation cause by his decision to move all Indians west of the Mississippi, and Long Live the Union, which focuses on the controversy over the National Bank and other federal versus states issues. A final chapter deals with Jackson's few years after leaving the White House. Clearly this volume is not just a substantive juvenile biography, it also takes pains to deal with all of the controversial issues of Jackson's political life, whether judged by the standards of his time or our own. Teachers and students looking to get beyond what little can be found about Jackson in a standard American History textbook will find this a good source for additional information.

I enjoyed this book.I like to learn about presidents.I like to know what people called the presidents.my favorite part of the book is when Andrew Jackson married Rachel Donelson Robards for the first time in 1791.I would think that people that who like presidents and want to learn about Andrew Jackson would like this book.I learned that in 1788 people would duel with other people.Sometimes they would be shot and die or they would be lucky and not be shot.Well I hope you read this book.

Today we know them as Old Hickory and the Great Compromiser. However, they called each other King Andrew the first and the Corrupt Bargainer. Jackson and Clay were the opposite poles of the axis of Antebellum politics. Each man carried an ideological dislike and often personal hatred of the other man. However, each shaped the political landscape in the US perhaps more than any men after 1800. The 1820-30s were the utmost of critical in the development of the US- the crossroads where the US could prove a failed democratic experiment or emerging industrial country. In these crucial times nothing happened in Washington, DC without either Clay's or Jackson's approval. Their personal feud infulenced everything from construction of national highways, and the national banking system to slavery and tarriffs.

Watson keeps an even hand in explaining the complex relationship of these two important men. His writing is percise and insightful. The first part is Watson's explantion and analysis. Part 2 consist of over 100 pages of historical letters and writings. This allows the reader to understand Jackson and Clay thru their own words. The 200+ pages read very fast and contain all the information your likely to ever need to know about the connection between Clay and Jackson. The book was designed "to be a reasonable one-week assignment for a college course." It proves very reasonable indeed.

In the opening chapter of "Andrew Jackson's America: 1824-1850," Christopher & James Lincoln Collier drive home the difference between Jackson and George Washington by pointing out that Jackson prided himself on being a "man of the people," while the aristocratic Washington would have been insulted by the idea. However, as the first painting of Jackson in this volume clearly shows, no one could look more imperial than Andy By-God Jackson. This ninth volume in excellent series The Drama of American History focuses more on the Age of Jackson rather than just the two terms Jackson served in the White House. After all, Jackson was a major political figure before that time; in fact, he was the first candidate to win three consecutive popular votes for the Presidency.

This volume covers the Age of Jackson in seven chapters: (1) A Man for an Age previews Jackson's impact on American History and how he is clearly one of those figures that who validates the Great Man theory of history. However, while Jackson serves as the defining figure of his time, he is not the focus of most of these chapters; (2) The Industrial Revolution Comes to America looks at the social and economic transformation of the nation that happened during this period; (3) The New Transportation System covers the importance of being able to move people and things from one place to another by canal and railroad; (4) The Rise of the Market Economy looks at the creation of the "blue collar" and "white collar" class system that originated at this time.

Jackson's personal impact on the nation's history highlights the next couple of chapters: (5) The Beginning of the Two-Party Political System erupted after the "Era of Good Feelings" that defined the administration of James Monroe. The bitterly contested election of 1824 between the National Republicans of John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay and the Democratic Republicans of Jackson gave birth to the political division that continues to plague us today; (6) Andrew Jackson and the Modern Presidency looks at not only how he played an important role in creating the national Democratic Party, but how his political philosophy of believing in a strong president while not believing in a strong government can best be seen in the public argument over the national bank; and (7) Pushing the Indians Back Again details Jackson's policy of moving the native tribes west to allow white expansion. This chapter has a map that pinpoints 68 major Indian battles between 1829 and 1866 and certainly the Colliers provide a contemporary perspective on the Age of Jackson by ending it with the shame of the Trail of Tears.

The chief value of The Drama of American History series is how the Colliers establish what they call the "central core" of the subject under discussion. "Andrew Jackson's America" shows how the nation changed during this quarter-century and what hand Jackson hand in the nation's peculiar evolution at that point. The volume is illustrated with historic paintings, etchings and political cartoons, although if anything there are too few of the last on this list (there are some really choice examples I have seen elsewhere that would have enriched this volume). Even if this series proves too expensive to work as a complete set for students in the classroom, as I suspect is almost always going to be the case, teachers can still benefit from the organizational structure of these volumes and the emphasis it provides for understanding the period.

Although there is a photograph of the ancient Andrew Jackson on the cover of this "Photo-Illustrated Biography" by Steve Potts, the only photograph on the inside is a contemporary black & white photograph of the Hermitage. I know I have seen at least one other photograph (or probably more accurately a daguerreotype) of Jackson, also from shortly before his death and years after he left the White House, so it is not like it is possible to have much more than what is provided here.

Anyhow, the volumes in this service are clearly geared for young readers and consist of a full-page illustration on the left side of the two-page spread and several paragraphs of text on the right. In that latter regard, Steve Potts provides a lot more information than other volumes in this series. Young readers will learn about how Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States and the first born in a log cabin. Potts traces Jackson's life from his boyhood in Carolina, through his experiences during the Revolutionary War, to his early career as a lawyer. Potts deals with the facts behind Jackson's marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards and how he earned the nickname "old Hickory" during the War of 1812. Jackson was the first candidate for President to win the popular vote three times in a row, and Potts explains how Jackson "lost" that first election in 1824 (which will be of interest to those young students who remember what happened in Florida in 2000).

There is a lot of information in this little volume, which clearly makes it the best of the series. Both young students and their teachers will get a solid background on Jackson's life and political career.

Franklin Roosevelt was the first President to win a third term in the White House, but he was actually the third Presidential candidate to win the popular vote three times in a row. Grover Cleveland was the second and Andrew Jackson was the first. The problem was the first time around the election was thrown into the House of Representatives and John Quincy Adams cut a deal with Henry Clay to win the Presidency. Certainly young readers remember enough about that mess in Florida in 2000 (not to be confused with this year's primary mess in that state) to find this aspect of Jackson's political life to be rather interesting.

As with all of the volumes in the Our Presidents series, Ann Graham Gaines divides her subject's life into four chapters, looking at Jackson's life growing up in the south during the American Revolution, how he became a national hero during the War of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans, his quest to finally win the Presidency, and the two terms he served in the White House. The book is illustrated with historic etchings and paintings, as well as a rare photograph of the aged Jackson. The margins of the book often contain interesting facts regarding Jackson's tendency to fight duels and how he got his nickname of "Old Hickory." There are also sidebars devoted to his wife Rachel, the Trial of Tears, and Jackson's home the Hermitage.

In addition to providing all of the basic biographical details of Jackson's life, Gaines does a good job of providing a concise account of Jackson's impact as President, from the founding of the Democratic Party to the controversial Indian Removal Act and the fight to destroy the Second Bank. Young readers will get a sense for how Jackson was a pivotal President in the nation's history and how he made his impact on history.

Well written and inspiring little book. Murray was a calvinist with a real devotion to Christ - that's enough of an endorsement for me to buy a biography. This quote from Andrew Murray in the book ought to sum it up: "I trust that our gracious God is bringing me somewhat to feel the necessity of an initmate experimental soul-knowledge of the precious truth to be proclaimed, and, above all, of that one glorious central truth - the amazing wonder of the love of a crucified Jesus."

This book is a daily cleansing from myself. It has shown me that I can't buy, adopt, borrow, or bribe for His holiness. I receive His holiness only through Him. This book is teaching me that the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him alone, makes holy. If you desire to be holy in every area of your life this is the book you must read. This book will give you as it has given me a daily dosage of how to obtain, apply and be Holy, as God is Holy.

The book is easy reading and I carry it with me everywhere I go. I read it on the train, at my office, at the kitchen table. God's holiness is becoming so real to me, and this little, but powerful book has played a significant role in my daily life.

While enlightening for everyone, this book is practically a "how-to" manual for people looking to deepen their spiritual walk. If you've read Watchman Nee, where one has to stop reading periodically to let the truths sink in, you will feel right at home when reading Andrew Murray's treatise on the Holy Spirit.

The author does not emphasize the spiritual gifts of the Spirit, neither does he deny them. The gifts are simply not the area of his concern here. He wants to help the reader achieve in his own life and experience the overcoming life the Lord Jesus promised. In my opinion, he succeeded admirably.

Robert Mutrie is arguably Ontario's premiere genealogy researcher and author, and Andrew Nelles: A New Canadian may well be his finest work yet. Mutrie is the compiler of "Long Point Settlers" and editor of "Long Point Settlers Journal."

Thoroughly researched and well-documented, Andrew Nelles: A New Canadian, is well-written, well-illustrated and indexed. A hardcover coffee table book any descendant would find invaluable, it sets a standard for other such efforts to meet.

Of particular interest, are the many sidebar articles about the genealogy of spouses. No expense was spared in producing this book, which justifies its price. Would make an excellent gift.