Jackson [Unabridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Max Byrd (Author), George Guidall (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1998

This audiobook provides an unforgettable portrait of a nation in transition, and a politician Thomas Jefferson called "the most dangerous man in America."

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Recorded Books Inc; Unabridged edition (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0788719998
• ISBN-13: 978-0788719998
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,327,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Byrd's careful research produces stunning novels, September 1, 2000

By 

Author Bill Peschel "Writers Gone Wild" (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jackson (Paperback)

There are two stories running side-by-side, like horses in harness, in "Jackson," the fascinating novel about Old Hickory's 1828 campaign for the presidency by "Jefferson" novelist Max Byrd.

The story that will draw readers into the book concerns David Chase, a young writer hired by an enemy of Andrew Jackson to research and write a scurrilous biography of him that will derail his presidential bid. Fortunately for Chase, there is plenty of scandal to be found. Jackson lived a life on the frontier, where duels were as common as breathing, and where those with a lick of sense and an ounce of ambition -- and Jackson had more than enough of both -- were not above using any means to get ahead.

But it's Rachel, Jackson wife of 38 years, who had the potential of providing the juiciest bits of gossip. Although we first meet her as a pious, elderly woman, content to smoke her corncob pipe on the veranda of their home, the Hermitage, she was considered a vivacious beauty in her youth, when Andrew eloped with her to escape an abusive marriage. They were married, and lived together for two years before discovering that her first husband neglected to file divorce papers. Bigamy, no matter how accidental nor how long ago, was still a powerful charge in 1828.

Worse, rumors are about that Rachel that she was involved with another man while still married to her first husband. If Chase can find proof, he could set alight the charge that would dynamite Jackson's campaign.

The second, more subtle, story has to do with America of the 1820s, making its way from being a stepchild of Great Britain to something reflecting its native character, an uneasy mix of sectional rivalries and class distinctions that can still be seen today. Chase observes this growing-up process with the eye of a Parisian, where he lived for many years and desperately wants to return. He is at times horrified by this country under construction, its rough ways and abusive life. Byrd expertly recreates this America in vivid prose mingled with deeply dug-up facts about everyday life in this newly minted country. We are rewarded, for example, with a glimpse of John Quincy Adams, the president and Jackson's rival, uneasily presiding at a White House reception, open to all, and jammed with politicians, diplomats and what passed for tourists in those days, all on the make. He fared better than Jackson, whose inaugural parade degenerated into an all-out assault and looting of the White House by the "common people" who voted him in.

Chase also experiences this shaping of America personally in a love affair with Emma Colder, a woman who finds the invisible ties that bind her sex loosened in her new land.

As a historical novel, "Jackson" doesn't rip through its time like freight train. Popular novelists like John Jakes would have juiced up the love story, made the hero handsomer and put in a few fist fights and gun battles (although Byrd's recounting of the Battle of New Orleans provides enough gore on that score). Byrd paces his story more leisurely, the way life was lived back then. He convincingly revives an era when optimism about America's future was mingled with pessimism over its past, when technology was embraced like a religion, and when social inequalities were blatant and considered justified. It makes one anxiously await his next book, just published, about Ulysses S. Grant and Mark Twain.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Max Byrd's "Jackson" is 1997's finest historical novel., December 28, 1998

By 

Lowe Bibby ([e-mail]) (Kailua, Hawaii (island of Oahu)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jackson (Paperback)

Forget Gore Vidal, Max Byrd's "Jackson" surpasses any of Vidal's historical novels. In fact, Byrd may be the finest author of historical novels now working in the United States.

"Jackson" is beautifully crafted, with a plot that siezes readers and fascinates them until the book is finished. Andrew Jackson is a man who has always deserved to be better known by us all. Byrd brings him to life with consumate skill.

More importantly, he inserts readers into Jackson's time and offers an entire panorama of our burgeoning nation in 1828. Only four of the characters are invented, and the real people who surrounded Jackson speak, act, and react as they did when they were alive.

This is a wonderful book, with characters who are works of art. It should be read by anyone with the slightest taste for history, true drama, or simply the finest writing on today's horizon.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Postulates the Under Currents Used to Elect Jackson, October 30, 2001

By 

Howard L. Dixon (Hopewell, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jackson (Paperback)

As with several of his books, Max Byrd uses the interesting technique of using the writing of fictional characters to tell true stories of heroes of the past. This book is set in 1827-1828 as Andrew Jackson is running for President against John Quincy Adams. David Chase in this book serves a similar role as Nicolas Trist in the book "Grant" where a writer returns from abroad and is given the job of writing about the central character. In this book Chase's employer is hoping for a hatchet job on Andrew to prevent the "uncultured" forces of the West from gaining access to the White House. Similar to "Grant" there's also a smattering of romance among the fictional characters to keep the story spicey. Byrd is a well-educated man and it is easily reflected in his work. One doesn't have to know Latin but there is more than one example where it would help..."Veni, vidi, vici." What's most enjoyable is how Byrd weaves tid-bits of facts into his historical profiles. I had never thought about how the cast-iron frame had extended the life of pianos because a complete wooden frame would be destroyed by the masters in short order. One of the central themes involves rumors and truths about Jackson's wife, Rachael. Will her early indiscretions be enough to sink Jackson's bid for the White House? Byrd does a nice job of addressing this with known facts, interspersed with supposition. Finally, there's a great deal in this book about a man whom history has mostly forgotten...General Coffee. Coffee was with Jackson throughout many years of his adult life, serving with him at New Orleans and back into civilian life through Jackson's presidency. If you're interested in those that shaped this Union during the early 1800s you'll enjoy this book.