Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson (American History)
Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson (American History) | 
 enlarge | Author: David S. Reynolds
Publisher: Harper
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $19.77
You Save: $10.18 (34%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 2
ISBN: 0060826568
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.5
EAN: 9780060826567
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
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Product Description
pAmerica experienced unprecedented expansion and turmoil in the years between 1815 and 1848. In iWaking Giant/i, Bancroft Prize-winning historian and literary critic David S. Reynolds illuminates the period's exciting political story as well as the fascinating social and cultural movements that influenced it. He casts fresh light on Andrew Jackson, who redefined the presidency, along with John Quincy Adams and James K. Polk, who expanded the nation's territory and strengthened its position internationally. /p piWaking Giant/i captures the turbulence of a democracy caught in the throes of the controversy over slavery, the rise of capitalism, and the birth of urbanization. Reynolds reveals unknown dimensions of the Second Great Awakening with its sects, cults, and self-styled prophets. He brings to life the reformers, abolitionists, and temperance advocates who struggled to correct America's worst social ills. He uncovers the political roots of some of America's greatest authors and artists, from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Edgar Allan Poe to Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand, and he reveals the shocking phenomena that marked the age: bloody duels and violent mobs, P. T. Barnum's freaks and all-seeing mesmerists, polygamous prophets and wealthy prostitutes, table-lifting spiritualists and rabble-rousing feminists. All were crucial to the political and social ferment that led to the Civil War. /p pMeticulously researched and masterfully written, iWaking Giant/i is a brilliant chronicle of America's vibrant and tumultuous rise. /p
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 A Cultural History Of The Age Of Jackson October 26, 2008
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
There have been made fine books on the era between the War of 1812 and the Civil War that was dominated by Andrew Jackson. From the Pulitzer Prize winning "The Age of Jackson" by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (1945) to Robert Remini's three volume biography of Jackson (1977, 1981, 1984), the field have been dominant with political histories. Mr. Reynolds takes a different approach with politics taking a backseat to the cultural times of America. The literary, spiritual, theaterical, etc. are all covered in this history of how Americans lived. The political aspect is covered in a basic approach of an introduction while the celebrities, quacks, writers, and preachers take center stage. The writing is lively and interesting.
Thorough, readable history of the United States between 1815 and 1848 November 10, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
David S. Reynolds provides a broad survey of the United States of America between 1815 and 1848, commonly referred to as the "Age of Jackson". After reaffirming its independence from England in the War of 1812, the United States emerged as a world power brimming with a cast of first-generation American politicians, soldiers, scientists, writers and artists. No hagiography, this book explores both triumphs and failures, both accomplishments and limitations of scores of both American legends and lesser-known significant figures. br /In the beginning and end of the book, Reynolds covers the Presidential administrations of James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and James Polk; he closes with the 1849 inauguration of Zachary Taylor. With the demise of the Federalists, the Democrat Monroe enjoyed the "Era Of Good Feelings", but national politics soon disintegrated into bitter partisanship between the Democrats and Whigs. Such enmity existed that Congress refused to provide appropriations for the 1840's White House, making President John Tyler pay his own heating bill. Modern parallels abound: Reynolds describes Senators "in the odd position of opposing the war (with Mexico) for political reasons while voting to fund it so as not to appear unpatriotic." br /A key cultural flashpoint is the amplifying clash between abolitionists and slave-owners that would soon thereafter erupt into the Civil War. Another theme involves the young nation's embrace or rejection of mother country England through disparate arenas like political science, literature or theater. In the middle chapters, Reynolds also explores religion, medicine, scientific inventions, fine art, entertainment and fads of the era. br /The text is occasionally repetitive, often retelling events from earlier in the book instead of simply alluding to them and moving to new information. Further editing might have yielded a more cohesive volume. Reynolds previously wrote a biography of Walt Whitman and, though usually apt, his inclusion of Whitman's observations in almost every chapter grows tiresome. br /Reynolds includes a 30-page index and 17 pages of sources and additional recommended reading. The book also includes over 40 black and white illustrations. Detailed but not exhaustive, this volume is informative yet still highly readable. This would probably make an excellent gift for a social studies teacher or casual American history buff. br /
Waking Giant Purchase December 20, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Purchased on the Amazon Marketplace. Easy to make he selection and the transaction. Book arrived in great shape. Price was good. The b okk was shipped right away. A great experience.br /br /I am really enjoying the book. It covers the early 1800s in a manner that gives me much more insight to the developing nation than I had before. Interesting personal and cultural information brings the insights to light. Highly recommended to the history buff or anyone interested in how Americans came to be such unique people in this world.
The Revolutionary generation grows old, the country grows west, the culture grows up, and religion grows wild January 5, 2009
Reynolds history resuscitates Jackson's reputation and places his presidency in the political, cultural, and religious context of the "Age of Jackson" (roughly 1820 to 1850). As with all histories that cover a specific time scope, the selection is somewhat artificial, but Reynolds' account does a good job of setting the stage for Jackson's entrance (the Revolutionary generation growing old, the country growing west, the culture growing up, and religion growing wild), and pointing the spotlight of the Age's impact on the decades of war over slavery just off stage.br /br /Slavery and Manifest Destiny were the central issues of the Age of Jackson, as abolition began to make literary and political headway and the country continued to expand westward with an attitude of providential grant. This growth symbiotically fed on and into the religious ferment that was a key characteristic of this period. Reynolds does a good job of providing the broad outline, then focusing on a few key participants in the history so we can see both forest and trees.br /br /Jackson is the broad-shouldered centerpiece of the Age, of course, with his country upbringing, cursory education, and coarse manners standing tall as the accepted portrait of the man, the President, and the Age. Reynolds, while acknowledging these givens, focuses on Jackson's political skills (surprisingly adept) and his attitude toward race (the native American removal policy, while horribly flawed, was based on paternalistic notions of fairness that reflected the mainstream of his time), while showing that this bluff and gruff duelist and frontiersman was actually capable of holding and expressing deep love for his wife and for God. br /br /For more on Jackson, the most recent full-length biography is Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H. W. Brands, which I also rated four stars.br /br /Regardless of your take on his political leadership, you will acknowledge Jackson as an honorable man after reading this book, and you will have a better understanding of the Age he characterized so well it bears his name. You will see, in the Waking Giant, the outlines of the literary, religious, and political America we live in today.
Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson (Audiobook) November 30, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is another in Tantor's well-produced books-on-CD. The book itself is an enjoyable and, at times, entertaining history of the "Era of Good Feelings" and Jacksonian America. The author, David Reynolds, is superb in describing the times and personalities of the pre-Civil War era.
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