Robert V. Remini Pořadí knih (chronologicky)

Robert V. Remini's prize-winning, three-volume biography Life of Andrew Jackson won the National Book Award on its completion in 1984 and is recognized as one of the greatest lives of a U.S. President. In this meticulously crafted single-volume abridgment, Remini captures the essence of the life and career of the seventh president of the United States. As president, from 1829-1837, Jackson was a significant force in the nations's expansion, the growth of presidential power, and the transition from republicanism to democracy. Jackson is a highly controversial figure who is undergoing historical reconsideration today. He is known as spurring the emergence of the modern American political division of Republican and Democractic parties, for the infamous Indian removal on the Trail of Tears, and for his brave victory against the British as Major General at the Battle of New Orleans. Never an apologist, Remini portrays Jackson as a foreceful, sometimes tragic, hero--a man whose strength and flaws were larger than life, a president whose conviction provided the nation with one of the most influential, colorful, and controversial administrations in our history.

A much-needed, concise history of the United States of America by National Book Award winner Robert V. Remini This accessible and lively volume contains the essential facts about the discovery, settlement, growth, and development of the American nation. Beginning with the earliest travelers to landing the Americas, A SHORT HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES is a kind of highlight reel of U.S. history, including the migration of Native Americans, the founding of a republic under the Constitution, the emergence of the United States as a world power, the outbreak of terrorism here and abroad, all the way through the last years of George W. Bush’s presidency—the perfect read for those who are searching for an abbreviated version of our nation’s history, what shaped it, changed it, and what may be to come.

The Battle of New Orleans was the climactic battle of America's "forgotten war" of 1812. Andrew Jackson led his ragtag corps of soldiers against 8,000 disciplined invading British regulars in a battle that delivered the British a humiliating military defeat. The victory solidified America's independence and marked the beginning of Jackson's rise to national prominence. Hailed as "terrifically readable" by the Chicago Sun Times , The Battle of New Orleans is popular American history at its best, bringing to life a landmark battle that helped define the character of the United States.

The first cannon-fire filled narrative of a defining moment in American history comes from a foremost Jacksonian scholar. Only Robert Remini, acclaimed for his majestic biography of Andrew Jackson, could vividly recount this pivotal but often overlooked battle. In 1815, Britain's elite troops, fresh from victories against Napoleon, faced a stunning defeat near New Orleans at the hands of a diverse army of citizen soldiers led by the fledgling commander known as "Old Hickory." This battle established the United States as a military power and affirmed its status as an independent democracy. A coalition of militiamen, regulars, untrained frontiersmen, free blacks, pirates, Indians, and townspeople marched to the tunes of "Yankee Doodle" and "La Marseillaise," enriching the narrative with a variety of characters and scenes. Among them were the swashbuckling Jean Lafitte and his privateers, the proud British General Pakenham with his beleaguered troops, and the spirited Creoles who resisted blacking out their street lamps. The agile Choctaw and Tennessee sharpshooters took aim at redcoat sentries by night. Jackson, tall and shrewd, declared, "I will smash them, so help me God!" This improbable victory united disparate groups and showcased the United States' sovereignty, propelling a once-poor orphan boy into the White House and forging a true nation from ex-colonies.

While summarizing the highlights of the Jacksonian era, Remini admits that Jackson was more a symbol than a cause of the rising American democratic forces of the period. He shows how Jackson was ahead of his time in suggesting certain political reforms: elimination of the electoral college, a one-term presidency, and four-year terms for U.S. senators. Remini also describes Jackson's program of removing the Indians west of the Mississippi River, his position on slavery, and the powerful urge to reform and improve society and the conditions developing from an increasingly industrial and materialistic nation. ISBN 0-88295-864-X (pbk.): $8.95