Rate: 2/5
Medium: Audiobook
Overview (No Spoilers): The American Lion was an excellent reminder that I’ve been incredibly spoiled with the nonfiction I’ve read over the last year. The Innovators, Clouds of Glory, Cleopatra, and The River of Doubt, to name a few, all conveyed mass amounts of information to the reader in a nonbiased, clear manner. I finished each of the aforementioned books feeling as though I had gained significant knowledge and insight based both on the person being highlighted as well as the time period in which they inhabited. However, from the beginning of The American Lion, Meacham seemed to take an overly biased viewpoint in favor of Andrew Jackson. Frustratingly for the reader, anyone who opposed Jackson or his posse was portrayed as the enemy. While I fully understand that this novel was not intended as a complete biography of Jackson, instead focusing on the people that surrounded him during his time in office, the biased nature made me feel as though I could only take the author’s conclusions with a grain of salt. With that being said, I also felt as though I learned more about court scandals during this time period than the policies shaping the nation. I know I’m exaggerating on this point but I wish more time would have been spent on the latter. Overall, with so many other excellent historical nonfictions available to dive into, The American Lion can easily be passed over.
The Critiquing Chemist 
I feel sorry for bad nonfiction. They are just sort of naked in their badness, without even the mildly effective crutch of ‘good ideas’ to hold them up.
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I’m a reader looking for fairly good non-fiction, so I think I’m gonna sit this one out. Do you have other non-fiction books you could recommend?
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I am originally from Tennessee so reverence for Andrew Jackson was instilled in me from childhood. As an adult, I am very disillusioned with American politics and sadly must admit that the republic’s political problems go WAY back.
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Over the last year I have read about quite a few presidents and as a result many elections. It has made me a bit less hopeless regarding our current state of affairs as a result. There have always been bitter and dire feeling during elections throughout our history. We still persevere.
I do want to read more about Jackson. Maybe something with a bit more substance.
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[…] As such, I eagerly scooped up Thomas Jefferson, especially having previously read Meacham’s the American Lion, highlighting Andrew Jackson and the people that inhabited his social sphere. While I wasn’t […]
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