The most recommended books about Andrew Jackson

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10 authors created a book list connected to Andrew Jackson, and here are their favorite Andrew Jackson books.
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Book cover of A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South

Fergus M. Bordewich Author Of Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction

From Fergus' 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Historian World traveler Cat lover

Fergus' 3 favorite reads in 2023

Fergus M. Bordewich Why did Fergus love this book?

This book was full of surprises for me.

Cozzens took me on a wild ride through the chaotic violence of one of the countryā€™s most significant but least well-known Indian wars, which led to the destruction of a once-powerful native confederacy and the expulsion of the Creeks from their lands in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Cozzens is a fair-minded historian who does not play favorites.

Itā€™s impossible to read this book without coming to a fuller understanding of the raw violence that characterized the southern frontier or for the insurmountable challenges for native people who sought to find an accommodation with the oncoming tide of American settlement.

By Peter Cozzens,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Brutal Reckoning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Cozzens is a master storyteller' The Times

From the devastating invasion by Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century to the relentless pressure from white settlers 150 years later, A Brutal Reckoning tells the story of encroachment on the vast Native American territory in the Deep South, which gave rise to the Creek War, the bloodiest in American Indian history, and propelled Andrew Jackson into national prominence, as he led the US Army in a ruthless campaign.

It was a war that involved not only white Americans and Native Americans but also the British and the Spanish, and ultimately led toā€¦


Book cover of Andrew Jackson

Mark R. Cheathem Author Of Andrew Jackson, Southerner

From my list on explaining Andrew Jackson.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became interested in Andrew Jackson as an undergraduate student who worked at his Nashville plantation, The Hermitage. Nearly thirty years later, I am still fascinated by Old Hickory. We wouldnā€™t be friends, and I wouldnā€™t vote for him, but I consider him essential to understanding the United Statesā€™ development between his ascension as a national hero during the War of 1812 and his death in 1845. That we still argue about Jacksonā€™s role as a symbol both of patriotism and of genocide speaks to his enduring significance to the national conversation about what the United States has represented and continues to represent.  

Mark's book list on explaining Andrew Jackson

Mark R. Cheathem Why did Mark love this book?

There is no question that Remini had a gift for writing, even if he frequently sacrificed analysis for narrative and was often too laudatory of Old Hickory. His multi-volume biography is still considered the standard against which other Jackson biographies are measured, and his influence can even be seen in works by non-historians, such as Jon Meachamā€™s Pulitzer Prize-winning American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

By Robert V. Remini,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Andrew Jackson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of Florida Place Names: Alachua to Zolfo Springs

Bruce Hunt Author Of Visiting Small-Town Florida

From my list on for Florida-philes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Bruce Hunt is a native Floridian writer and photographer. He has authored eleven Florida travel and history books, and over the last three decades has written and photographed hundreds of articles for magazines and newspapers. For five years he was a regular feature writer and photographer for DuPont Registry Tampa Bay Magazine. His work has also appeared in The St. Petersburg Times (Tampa Bay Times), Tampa Tribune, The Visit Tampa Bay Official Visitors Guide, Backpacker Magazine, Rock & Ice Magazine, Skydiving Magazine, Florida Trend Magazine, Celebrity Car Magazine, Coastal Living Magazine, and Southern Living Magazine, among others.

Bruce's book list on for Florida-philes

Bruce Hunt Why did Bruce love this book?

Allen Morrisā€™s compilation of Florida places, by name, tells the stories of eachā€”the origin of their names, their histories, and who settled them. It was published in 1995 but all the information is just as current today. It is a fascinating read and has been an invaluable history research tool for every one of my Florida books.

By Allen Morris,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Florida Place Names as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Many names of Florida places evoke fantastic images: Caloosahatchee, Okeechobee, Loxahatchee, Everglades, Miamiā€”to mention only a few. Did you know that Florida's places were often named to honor prominent local citizens such as postmasters, landowners, or war heroes? Jacksonville, for example, was named for Florida's first American governor, Andrew Jackson. Later the state's interest in attracting new residents produced names that suggested pleasant places to live, such as Belle Glade and Avon-by-the-Sea. From Alachua (from the Seminole for "jug") to Zolfo Springs (from the Italian for "sulphur"), Florida Place Names delights and educates with a rich and varied offering ofā€¦


Book cover of Tennesseans at War, 1812-1815: Andrew Jackson, the Creek War, and the Battle of New Orleans

Mike Bunn Author Of Battle for the Southern Frontier: The Creek War and the War of 1812

From my list on understanding the Creek War of 1813 to 1814.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent a large part of my career researching and writing about the pivotal era in which these conflicts occurred, and continue to be intrigued by these cataclysmic events and their repercussions. Many conflicts in this nationā€™s history compete for the title of most unknown war, but the Creek War of 1813-1814 and the related southern campaigns of the War of 1812 have perhaps the best claim on that notoriety. Yet these conflicts nonetheless dramatically altered the United Statesā€™ history. They led to the forced removal of native tribes, ushered in the era of slave-based cotton agriculture in the Old Southwest, secured large portions of the Gulf South against European powers, and launched the career of one of Americaā€™s most influential military and political leaders. 

Mike's book list on understanding the Creek War of 1813 to 1814

Mike Bunn Why did Mike love this book?

In this book longtime Tennessee archivist Tom Kanon presents the most detailed analysis of the Volunteer Stateā€™s role in the Creek War and the War of 1812. That role is disproportionately large, considering that it raised the majority of the troops involved in the former and supplied the pivotal American leadership which played significant roles in winning both in the form of Andrew Jackson. The book is not exclusively focused on Tennesseans despite the title, and does a commendable job of telling the story of the war and the Battle at New Orleans in their entirety.

By Tom Kanon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tennesseans at War, 1812-1815 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tennesseans at War, 1812-1815 by Tom Kanon tells the often forgotten story of the central role citizens and soldiers from Tennessee played in the Creek War in Alabama and War of 1812.Tennesseans at War, 1812-1815 by Tom Kanon tells the often forgotten story of the central role citizens and soldiers from Tennessee played in the Creek War in Alabama and War of 1812.

Although frequently discussed as separate military conflicts, the War of 1812 against Great Britain and the Creek War against Native Americans in the territory that would become Alabama were part of the same forceful projection of growingā€¦


Book cover of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848

Samantha Wilcoxson Author Of But One Life: The Story of Nathan Hale

From Samantha's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author History enthusiast Sufferer of wanderlust Writer

Samantha's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Samantha Wilcoxson Why did Samantha love this book?

I read this book as background research for my biography of James Alexander Hamilton, and I was completely taken in by the drama of the years between the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

We tend not to think too much about these years, but that is a mistake. This book, and the entire Oxford History of the United States series, is just phenomenal for gaining an understanding of how people and events impact each other through the decades.

I read lots of nonfiction, and this is the most captivating Iā€™ve read since Candice Millardā€™s Destiny of the Republic.

By Daniel Walker Howe,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked What Hath God Wrought as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Oxford History of the United States is by far the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. In this prize-winning, critically acclaimed addition to the series, historian Daniel Walker Howe illuminates the period from the battle of New Orleans to the end of the Mexican-American War, an era when the United States expanded to the Pacific and won control over the richest part of the North American continent. Howe's panoramic narrative portrays revolutionary
improvements in transportation and communications that accelerated the extension of the American empire. Railroads, canals, newspapers, and the telegraph dramatically lowered travel times and spurred theā€¦


Book cover of The Age of Jackson

Sean Patrick Adams Author Of A Companion to the Era of Andrew Jackson

From my list on Andrew Jacksonā€™s bizarre, violent, divisive life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been a historian of the period for more than two decades, and I am still fascinated by Andrew Jackson. He captures the attention of my undergraduate students and his name offers one of the best ways to start a shouting match at an academic conference. As I sifted through the various accounts of Jackson for this book, I was amazed at the range. Writers dealing with the same individual concluded that he was either a product of his age, a hero, the founder of American democracy, a populist, a racist, or a monstrous psychopath. All of these interpretations might have some merit, which made the project, in my opinion, all the more interesting. 

Sean's book list on Andrew Jacksonā€™s bizarre, violent, divisive life

Sean Patrick Adams Why did Sean love this book?

The O.G. of works on Andrew Jackson, Arthur Schlesingerā€™s book not only won the Pulitzer Prize, but went a long way towards rehabilitating Jacksonā€™s legacy in the eyes of Americans. Although the historical analysis is dated nowā€”not surprising for a book written in the 1940sā€”Schlesingerā€™s prose is beautiful, nearly poetic at times. So long as you take the assumptions about race, gender, and ethnicity in the context in which it was written, itā€™s a great read. I finished it wishing that historians still wrote with prose like this, albeit with different conclusions. 

By Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Age of Jackson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The outgrowth of a series of lectures entitled 'A reinterpretation of Jacksonian democracy' delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston in the fall of 1941."--Acknowledgements.


Book cover of Jackson's Sword: The Army Officer Corps on the American Frontier, 1810-1821

Brian McAllister Linn Author Of Elvis's Army: Cold War GIs and the Atomic Battlefield

From my list on the peacetime US Army.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a historian of modern (post-1898) American military history who has been fortunate enough to be at a university that supports my research. I have always been fascinated by the ā€œblack holesā€ in military history, the topics that are not glamorous like the big wars, charismatic generals, or Washington-level civil-military relations. This has led me to study such obscure topics as the conquest and pacification of the Philippines, the forty-year plans for Pacific defense prior to World War II, and how military officers have envisioned future war. The peacetime US Army is a terrific ā€œblack holeā€ because so many people, civilians, and military, assume that they already know that history.

Brian's book list on the peacetime US Army

Brian McAllister Linn Why did Brian love this book?

Sam Watsonā€™s two volumes fully integrate the US Army into the history of the Jacksonian Era. These works demonstrate the Armyā€™s vital role in issues as diverse as populism, professionalism, federalism, military policy, and the controversial suppression, dispossession, and forced relocation of Native Americans. His extensively-researched work not only shows the Armyā€™s diplomatic-police role, but why, despite the Jacksonianā€™s ideological opposition to a standing army, they made it so central to national policy on the frontier.

By Samuel J. Watson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Jackson's Sword as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jackson's Sword is the initial volume in a monumental study that provides a sweeping panoramic view of the U.S. Army and its officer corps from the War of 1812 to the War with Mexico, the first such study in more than forty years. Watson's chronicle shows how the officer corps played a crucial role in stabilising the frontiers of a rapidly expanding nation, while gradually moving away from military adventurism toward a professionalism subordinate to civilian authority.

Jackson's Swordexplores problems of institutional instability, multiple loyalties, and insubordination as it demonstrates how the officer corps often undermined-and sometimes supplanted-civilian authority withā€¦


Book cover of Vindicating Andrew Jackson: The 1828 Election and the Rise of the Two-Party System

Mark R. Cheathem Author Of Andrew Jackson, Southerner

From my list on explaining Andrew Jackson.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became interested in Andrew Jackson as an undergraduate student who worked at his Nashville plantation, The Hermitage. Nearly thirty years later, I am still fascinated by Old Hickory. We wouldnā€™t be friends, and I wouldnā€™t vote for him, but I consider him essential to understanding the United Statesā€™ development between his ascension as a national hero during the War of 1812 and his death in 1845. That we still argue about Jacksonā€™s role as a symbol both of patriotism and of genocide speaks to his enduring significance to the national conversation about what the United States has represented and continues to represent.  

Mark's book list on explaining Andrew Jackson

Mark R. Cheathem Why did Mark love this book?

Cole is an underappreciated historian of the Jacksonian era. Unlike Reminiā€™s classic overview of the 1828 presidential election, which is long on narrative and short on critical analysis, Cole provides a more in-depth examination of one of the dirtiest campaigns in U.S. history. It is the go-to book if you want to understand the inner workings of how Jackson was elected.  

By Donald B. Cole,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Vindicating Andrew Jackson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The presidential election of 1828 is one of the most compelling stories in American history: Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans and man of the people, bounced back from his controversial loss four years earlier to unseat John Quincy Adams in a campaign notorious for its mudslinging. With his victory, the torch was effectively passed from the founding fathers to the people. This study of Jackson's election separates myth from reality to explain why it had such an impact on present-day American politics. Featuring parades and public participation to a greater degree than had previously been seen,ā€¦


Book cover of The Life of Andrew Jackson

Donald R. Hickey Author Of Glorious Victory: Andrew Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans

From my list on understanding the Battle of New Orleans.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m an award-winning author and professor of history at Wayne State College in Nebraska. Called ā€œthe dean of 1812 scholarshipā€ by the New Yorker, Iā€™ve written eleven books and more than a hundred articles, mostly on the War of 1812 and its causes. I didnā€™t become interested in this battle until well into my academic career, when I decided to turn the series of articles on the War of 1812 that I had written into my first book. I quickly became fascinated by the cast of characters, headed by tough-as-nails Andrew Jackson; Baratarian pirate Jean Laffite; and the British commander, Sir Edward Pakenham, who was the Duke of Wellingtonā€™s brother-in-law. No less intriguing was the magnitude of the U.S. victory and the British defeat, the profound and lasting legacy of the battle, and the many popular misconceptions about what actually happened in the battle or what might have happened had the British won.

Donald's book list on understanding the Battle of New Orleans

Donald R. Hickey Why did Donald love this book?

A good place to start for understanding the Battle of New Orleans is a biography of the central character. A life-long student of Jackson, Robert Remini in this work provides a distillation of his 3-volume study on Old Hickory. Readers will learn about Jacksonā€™s contentious early life and rise on the Tennessee frontier, his remarkable success as a general in both the Creek War and the War of 1812, and his postwar career, culminating in his presidency.

By Robert V. Remini,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Life of Andrew Jackson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ā€œSuperb professional history that moves boldly beyond the scholarā€™s monograph to make the American past alive and exciting for the general reader.ā€ ā€”Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

[Remini] has produced a wonderful portrait, rich in detail, of a fascinating and important man and an authoritative . . . . account of his role in American History.ā€ ā€”New York Times Book Review

The classic one-volume abridgement of the definitive, three-volume, National Book Award-winning biography of Andrew Jackson from esteemed historian Robert V. Remini.


Book cover of A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South
Book cover of Andrew Jackson
Book cover of Florida Place Names: Alachua to Zolfo Springs

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