Customer Reviews

Old Hickory's Nephew: The Political and Private Struggles of Andrew Jackson Donelson (Southern Biography Series)

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Andrew Jackson Donelson is not a common name on the stage of history, and perhaps that is proper, for, in spite of all his efforts, President Andrew Jackson's nephew never rose to true national prominence. Even so, Mark Cheathem's biography of Donelson is an interesting and worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in mid-nineteenth century American politics.

While not directly shaping the great events of the time, Donelson was still intimately involved in most of the major political issues between 1830 and 1860, including nullification, the annexation of Texas, and the other major antecedents of the American Civil War. A careful look at his life gives us a new vantage point from which to examine many of these significant events.

Cheathem writes well, and gives us a thorough and detailed account of Donelson's life and times, relying primarily on original sources such as letters, newspapers and political records. The result is a first rate, and eminently trustworthy, history of Old Hickory's nephew, and a unique and useful window into the times in which he lived.