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322nd out of 974 books
—
796 voters
The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory
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. Hai...more
Paperback, 226 pages
Published
May 1st 2001
by Penguin Books
(first published 1999)
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The sort of history of battle you don't see much anymore: rousing and entertaining, full of brave deeds and long odds overcome. Huzzah indeed! Not much attention is paid to the causes of the war or its broader social context, and while that might have been of interest, frankly it is not much missed here. The focus is mostly on Andrew Jackson--Remini is a biographer of Jackson--and it works as a means to tell the story of the battle in a truncated and readable fashion. In the concluding chapter h...more
The Battle of New Orleans Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory by Robert v. Remini was a tougher read. It was rich with historical information that at times could make it very boring. Although most of the book tended to be quite boring I did learn some new thing about that major battles Andrew Jackson fought in. Most of these battles I had only learned about through history class which did not take such an in depth look at them, so seeing all parts of these important battles and w...more
The story of the defense of New Orleans in the war of 1812. The british threatened to invade New Orleans, march up the Mississippi and cut the US in half. All that stood in their way was Andrew Jackson and his army of New Orleans militia, enlisted pirates, Tennessee and Kentucky frontiersmen and other irregular forces. The british fielded the most well-equipped, disciplined and seasoned army in the world at the time. Jackson used an amazing combination of aggressiveness, caution, and the Lousian...more
This book's narrative is fast and snappy, the story is well told and presented in a way that it reads like a novel. The author, Robert V. Remini certainly loves this period of history and has a deep respect for Andrew Jackson, which shows throughout the book, maybe too much so. One of the previous reviewers mentioned the fact that the story was a bit too much like "good versus evil".
I found on occasions that the American forces could do no wrong while the British were blunderers. For example, t...more
I found on occasions that the American forces could do no wrong while the British were blunderers. For example, t...more
Another great history-in-a-nutshell book which explains how Old Hickory ended up on the $20 bill. What's better than Kentuckians in Top Hats, pirates and citizen soldiers banding together with a beat up regular American Army to finally put the British in their place (a feat which even Napoleon could not accomplish)? Excellent.
A quick popular history of the New Orleans campaign, generic to a fault. Nothing distinguishes this book; the style is brisk and chatty and the narrative quick and straightforward, but there is nothing remarkable here. To its detriment, the book also completely neglects the social and political ramifications of the battle, instead confining its scope to a straight record of events; something I find egregious in a history.
This is a detailed and clearly written account of the Battle of New Orleans and the skirmishes that preceded and followed it. However, it does not place the battle into an larger historical context (e.g. race relations - free black soldiers and Indians fought on both sides - or Napoleonic-era tactics), which, combined with Remini's sometimes gag-inducing patriotism, makes this book less intellectually satisfying than it ought to be.
I found it to be a nice, concise history of the battle. The only thing I think that could make it better would be more and better maps. I found it very interesting how ahead of his time Jackson was in tactics. His defense of New Orleans was more akin to something later in the Civil war (as opposed to the Napoleonic tactics the Brits used as well as both sides at the beginning of the civil war.)
An amazing short history of the Battle of New Orleans. Tells the rest of the story, espcially regarding the whole surrounding campaign.
I know very little of The War of 1812, and most of it from this slim volume. Remini is an historian worth pursuing.
Educational, which I guess is the purpose. But not always a pleasure to read.
Feb 09, 2010
Kevin
is currently reading it
Sorry Jeff, I will send it back up to you in DC. How are things?
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excellent
Excellent!
"Todd provides a spirited, unvoiced presentation. He reads in a clear, distinct voice that is easy to follow. The dramatic text needs no further embellishment." �KLIATT
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Listen to The Battle of New Orleans on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
This is mostly a military history. As I am more interested in character development both nationally and individually, it wasn't quite as satisfying as I had hoped. We do see Jackson's will imposed on the disparate people of New Orleans, and this is interesting. After his victory, we see this will as a picture of emerging national unity.
Remini has written a definitive and extremely readable account of the battle of New Orleans. He does a good job not only of describing the campaign that resulted in the clash of armies near New Orleans, but also places the battle in context as the first truly "American" victory.
The greatest victory of America's second war of independence. This is the story of how Andrew Jackson lead a rag-tag band of "dirty shirts", pirates, frontiersmen, free men of color, and ordinary citizens to defeat the greatest army in the world.
I think I would like Remini's full biography of Jackson better. I'm putting it on my to-read list.
May 31, 2013
Michael O'Toole
marked it as to-read
Jun 05, 2013
Tyler
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May 24, 2013
Joshua Rubin
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May 18, 2013
Marlene De
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May 13, 2013
William Debruin
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May 08, 2013
Kevin
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Apr 29, 2013
Nicholas
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English 11 Block ...: The battle of new orleans | 4 | 9 | Dec 05, 2012 05:34pm |
