... masterful ... Personal and political are presented in such style and illuminating narrative as to present us with an entirely human imposition of a man who was only too often underestimated by his detractors and dearly loved by those he represented, in his words, with 'the feelings of a father.' Meacham has taken the arduous task of collating such a vast volume of information and turned it into a biography which in many, many respects reads as a novel. The major difference is that it all happened, and needed to do so in the hands of Jackson—and skillfully rendered by the pen of Mr. Meacham ... Meacham gives us a genuinely engaging, intimate, and balanced account of Jackson’s personal gravitas and how nimbly he used it to perpetuate his steadfast belief in the will of the people. Indeed it is an entertaining and educational biography of the man, not of a cog in the governmental machine ... wonderfully readable and realistic voice ... Not merely an account of birth-to-grave, but more precisely a human study of how Jackson handled events surrounding him within the scope of his very humanity and his own stubborn definition of presidential rectitude ... If you have the faintest of red, white, and blue in your blood then this book should be on your must-read list—not your I’d-like-to-read-it-someday list . . . your must read list.

[Meacham] underplays the consequences of his subject’s darker qualities, especially the fact that Jackson was willing to destroy everything in order to exact revenge ... enormously entertaining, especially in the deft descriptions of Jackson’s personality and domestic life in his White House. But Meacham has missed an opportunity to reflect on the nature of American populism as personified by Jackson. What does it mean to have a president who believes that the people are a unified whole whose essence can be distilled into the pronouncements of one man?

Jon Meacham's account of Jackson's years of power does not contest the mainstream version. It selectively enriches that version with graceful new readings of some formerly overlooked primary materials, notably the private papers of members of Jackson's family circle ... comes most startlingly alive when [Meacham] tells the old, amazing story of the ill-educated rube who invented modern politics.

Meacham is right to emphasise the importance of his discoveries about his relations with political associates and enemies, which were numerous and often fractious ... There are other reasons, however, to recommend this provocative and illuminating book...If Jackson is commonly represented by his enemies as a ruffian and a scoundrel, quite unlike his more genteel predecessors, Meacham recognises the injustice of this attribution.

There are numerous books on the seventh president, but this one is distinguished by its particularly fluid presentation. As the subtitle indicates, it has special appeal for those readers who may be uninterested in a complete cradle-to-grave treatment but are looking for a particular focus on the Jackson presidency ... riveting.

The Jackson who emerges from Mr. Meacham’s telling is both a champion of the people and a political operator before his time ... The second half of American Lion is for my money the more engrossing. The Eaton affair is certainly dramatic, and not without historical implications, but I found the discussion of the weighty issues Jackson tackled in his second term to be more satisfying reading in light of the serious challenges we’re facing in our own time ... The people, for all their centrality to Jackson’s administration, are also the most notable omission in Mr. Meacham’s account. The book rarely turns to life outside Washington, and provides little indication, beyond Jackson’s two successful elections, of how closely his actions matched the values of his time. That absence suggests that although Jackson repeatedly claimed to have the support of the American public, the limits of travel and communication constrained how well he really knew the people’s will ... The thread connecting the president with the public is stronger now, but reading Jon Meacham’s American Lion, there’s a sense of looking back to a time when the two were just beginning to know each other.

Meacham ably portrays the aggressive behind-the-scenes politicking and power plays. Though the author is clearly captivated by his subject’s drive and ambition, he avoids hagiography, and is clear-eyed about Jackson’s flaws. He particularly condemns the president’s unwavering support for the forced relocation of thousands of Native Americans, which led to the infamous Trail of Tears. Meacham dwells a bit too much on Jackson’s rather ordinary views on religion, perhaps because his previous book, American Gospel (2006, etc.), focused almost exclusively on how religion influenced the Founding Fathers. Those occasional lapses aside, he provides a surprisingly detailed portrait of a complicated president, especially considering that this fast-moving text is aimed at the casual reader ... Succinct, engaging portrait of Jackson, his circle and his influence.

... lively ... Relying on the huge mound of previous Jackson studies, Meacham can add little to this well-known story, save for the few tidbits he’s unearthed in private collections rarely consulted before. What he does bring is a writer’s flair and the ability to relate his story without the incrustations of ideology and position taking that often disfigure more scholarly studies of Jackson. Nevertheless, a gifted writer like Meacham might better turn his attention to tales less often told and subjects a bit tougher to enliven.