This book made the Battle of New Orleans understandable. It is not a complete history of everything that happened, but it is a good story to read and easy to understand. It is the second book that I have read about this Battle, one was a novel, but had good facts. I know this one is not footnoted, but Kilmeade does list his sources and there are many of those. It was so interesting to read about Jackson himself. Some of that I already knew, but it did bring him to life in that time frame. My ancestors fought in this battle so that is why I was so interested in its history. I have also read Kilmeade's other books and find them very interesting.

THIS BIIK IS A GREAT READ, AND IS MORE LIKE A NOVEL THAN AN AMERICAN HISTORY BOOK. YOU HAVE OLE GEN ANDY JACKSON FRONT AND CENTER, DEFENDING NEW ORLEANS FROM THE BRITISH, WHO HE HATED WITH ALL HIS MIGHT, WITH A BAND OF BACKWOODSMEN, LOCAL VOLUNTEERS, AND PIRATES. I DIDNT REALIZE THAT THE BRITS, AFTER GETTING SOUNDLY DRUBED IN LA, SAILED EAST AND ATTACKED A SMALLER AMERICAN FORT. THE FACT THAT THE WAR OF 1812 WAS ALREADY OVER, AND A PEACE TREATY SIGNED BEFORE EITHER BATTLE IS JUST A SAD FACT OF HISTORY.

I have read Brian before, and his style is more oriented to high school 9th grade students. That is not my preferred style.Having said that this particular offering was interesting for the facts it offered. I was unfamiliar with the overall history of the New Orleans Battle and the story alone made this an interesting piece. For new historians who are just expanding their world, I would recommend this.As for those who are upset by some perceived glorification of President Jackson, I thought Kilmeade's style actually watered it down a little bit. Left or right, Jackson was an interesting and intense character, and if you have very hard feelings about Jackson, you should be for warned that you will need a few grains of salt.

Once again the authors delve more deeply into the history of our country than our teachers and textbooks ever did. From Washington's spies, of which I only some existed. To the Tripoli pirates, where I only knew that Jefferson sent the Navy and which the USMC sing so proudly about. Now the Battle of New Orleans, which is without a doubt, a much more important moment in our history than I had ever known it to be before.Thank you gentlemen. Please keep the books coming.

This is among the top five history books I have ever read, and I like to read history. It has ample background to the battle without killing the reader with WAY too much information like so many history books. It almost read like an action novel. In fact, by the time I got to the battle I couldn't put it down! Like most Americans all I knew about the Battle of New Orleans was the old Johnny Horton song where the British ran off after being fired on a couple of times. I never had thought about the fact that the British soldiers were the survivors and victors over the Republican Army of Napoleon. They had beaten the best army in the world! In Louisiana they were facing a ragtag mix of frontiersmen, riverboat men, dock workers, prisoners, and even pirates. There is only one reason they were not demolished by the Brits--Andrew Jackson. Since I learned about the Trail of Tears I have never liked the man. He was a man of his times and had many flaws. After reading this book my opinion has changed completely. I still don't really like him, but I don't think there is a man on this earth that could have accomplished what he did in preparation and execution of this final chapter in the war. He was sick, had old wounds that troubled him, was hampered by lack of funding and had almost no trained soldiers to rely on. He accomplished the impossible, and with that he has my undying admiration and respect. He truly earned his nickname "Old Hickory." He was perhaps the best natural military leader in the history of this nation.