Customer Reviews

Jackson

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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.

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.

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.

This is a much more satisfying book than Byrd's previous book, Jefferson, and part of the reason is that Andrew Jackson the man was more complex, contradictory, extroverted, extreme and unpredictable than his near contemporary. Jackson's life has provided material for a lot of historical fiction, but none that I have read approach the subject in such a detailed and interesting way. His life is laid before the reader piece by piece, like a puzzle. The narrator, a man hired to write a campaign biography, must learn about Jackson by interviewing his friends and enemies and engages in an investigation to find the truth about certain Jackson myths that fully involves the reader's attention. Better than a detective story and more satisfying than a head on biography, this book captures the spirit Jackson's times and leaves one with the sense of having experienced a real piece of history.

Max Byrd distinguishes himself again in this historical novel of President Andrew Jackson and his ascent to the presidency. As a follower of Thomas Jefferson and having read Max Byrd's "Jefferson" I must say this is a better story. I could not put it down and read the entire book in a weekend. Well worth the time for anyone interested in Jackson, the War of 1812 or early American History. Max Byrd carries over the character of Mr. William Short from the Jefferson novel. The main plot involves William Short's commissioning a fictional Mr. David Chase to write a biography of Andrew Jackson for political purposes. Well written and detailed in Max Byrd style the book comes alive with scenes, plots and intrigue.

You will catch yourself looking at a twenty dollar bill and imagining a life.

As a historical fiction lover I enjoyed this for its high points. Byrd does a great job of capturing the facts of Jackson and creating a believable character. Overall, I enjoyed Byrd's take, but it is something of a slow read -- at points becoming too academic. Being a fan of Grant I'm looking forward to Byrd's next work, this one didn't discourage me.

I'm not an authoritive expert on early American history by any means, but for anyone wishing to travel back in time and see for themselves the birth of the spirit of the Old West and the American 'Frontier-spirit', then "Jackson: A Novel" would be as good a choice as any I can think of. So rarely in modern film and literature do we as Americans get an oportunity to "re-live" in the United States during the 'Romantic Era' (circa 1800-1850). (And who in all of America's early portrait gallery of celebrities and rogues can be termed "Romantic" more than Andrew Jackson? This book provides the illusion to do just that. For a few brief moments, you will be wisked away to the 'post-Revolutionary-War' - 'pre-Civil-War' period of our country, which is so often overlooked, yet ironically stands as perhaps the most important era of our nation's beginnings. A very good book, I also highly recommend it.

Picking up where the history books leave off, Jackson adds color to an era in American history that is gradually fading from public consciousness and awareness. The post-revolutionary, pre-manifest destiny era featured perhaps the most interesting collection of public figures ever seen in this country, including John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Alexander Hamilton, James and Dolly Madison, John Marshall, an elder Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, and Jackson himself. For fans of the currently popular cinematic period pieces who hunger for an American version (even the film Jefferson in Paris does not provide a vivid picture of the nation in its youth), Jackson provides some relief in literary form. Hopefully, some budding movie director looking for a stylistic niche will put Jackson to film

I read about "Jackson" in the Wall Street Journal Bookshelf (5/14/97) and found the reviewer, Mr. Gerald Walker, right on target. He writes that "With 'Jackson,' Mr. Byrd has vaulted beyond, say, Micheal Shaara's . . . "The Killer Angels," into the front rank of American historical novelists. His elegant raunchiness reads like a collaboration between Henry Fielding . . . and Gore Vidal." Mr. Walker goes on to compare "Jackson" to Gore Vidal's "Lincoln" and "Burr." I am in total agreement with Mr. Walker and feel that Max Byrd's "Jackson" is an extremely enjoyable and memorable book of historical fiction that is not to be missed