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Also, if you missed last week’s super popular interview with the brilliant author, Adrian McKinty, where we discuss the state of men and reading, you can catch it here.

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham

I’ve read Jon Meacham’s stellar books on Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln and recommended both here in Books & Biceps, but I hadn’t read American Lion, a book he won the Pulitzer Prize for in 2009. I’d seen the book at various bookstores and hadn’t picked it up, although I always knew I’d get to it.

Then, early last month, as part of Florida celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, the state put up a very cool Andrew Jackson statue in Jackson County, which was named after our 7th president, who also happened to be the first territorial governor of Florida back in 1822. The city of Jacksonville is also named after Jackson, and as I read the basic press release about him and the statue (and I go to Jacksonville a few times a year), I thought it was about time I learn more about Old Hickory beyond what I remember from US History class and the other books I’ve read that he’s appeared in.

Early in the book, Meacham shares a quote from Jackson that is one of the all-time best self-describing quotes from anyone ever:

“I was born for the storm, and a calm does not suit me.”

Hell. Yes. What a quote. And with every page you realize it becomes even more true.

The story of Jackson’s early years is filled with tragedy, heartbreak, violence, poverty and embarrassment. It’s a wonder he even lived into his late teens. What he endured before his fifteenth birthday would mess most kids up for life… And yet, all the loss and all the shame fueled him.

He was a natural leader. He was a man’s man for his era. He was the kind of guy who you just knew was going to get into trouble if he came up with a late night crazy idea, but you’d go along anyway. We all had friends like that… And that was before he spent a day in politics.

The path that led him to the White House and his rivalry with John Quincy Adams, who loathed him, was incredible.

Adams called him “a barbarian who could not write a sentence of grammar and hardly spell his own name.” Ha! Tell us how you really feel, JQA.

And that was one of the kinder remarks from his political rivals, all of whom he roundly defeated. The United States was in a peculiar place when Jackson took office. The country was barely 50-years-old and we’d just put the War of 1812 in our rear view mirror. England. France. Spain. They all still wanted to see what the still-young U.S. was made of.

This was an era of our history I admit to having not read much about. It’s easy to become infatuated with the Revolutionary War and Washington, Adams and Jefferson and then skip right to Lincoln and the Civil War. But this was an important and interesting time and I’m enjoying learning about it. This is a big, dense book, but it’s worth it. Grab it here.

My son is thirteen, walks around the house shirtless every day after school and probably flexes in the mirror a half-dozen times before bed. Yes, it feels like I’m raising a younger version of myself, haha!

As my son is getting into working out, mostly body weight stuff at this point, he’s asking some good, key questions, like: how do you get jacked arms?

He’s a budding meathead and I’m so proud, but the answer to that question is nuanced and my thoughts have evolved a bit over the years.

Back in the day I used to do full on bis and tri sessions, like in an old school bro split, but now I’m more of the mind that if you do heavy, upper body compound movements like bench, pull-ups, military presses, etc…, you can just add some bi/tri work on the back of those days (going near failure) and you’ll be good. Then again, I’m almost 50 and that’s not as exciting for a teen wanting to put on some size.

I remember back at Muscle & Fitness talking to 4x Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler about his giant pythons and he had arm day boiled down to six-to-eight exercises.

The guys at Barbend have the full workout here. And if you want to watch Cutler go through it, he shared it on his YouTube channel as well:

If you’re a guy over 40 and you’ve been looking for a new digital magazine that’s written for midlife men, by midlife men, on the topics that actually matter to us: family, fitness, fashion, finance, food & fun, then join us at Midlife Male.

I’m the Editor-in-Chief and I write a column every Tuesday called The Manologue. This week I wrote about the ridiculous, raunchy, legendary tee shirts we all rocked in the 90s and how it’s insane that we were allowed to wear shirts like Big Johnson and Coed Naked Lacrosse to school. Remember those? Oh, you will in this awesome trip down memory lane here:

I have recommended several of Steve Brusatte’s books here and they’ve all been wildly popular with you. His book, The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs, is a must read for both you and anyone with kids who become obsessed with dinosaurs (so, all of them, boys at least)… And his most recent book (also a NY Times bestseller) The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present, will turn your neighborhood walk into a bird watching feast. If you read lots of fiction and biographies and stuff (like me) these books are great to break things up and learn about our natural world.

Since I’m such a fan of Steve’s, I offered to send him an early copy of Bear Brawl to get his thoughts. Obviously, he’s an actual scientist and paleontologist, so I was a little curious if my one-year crash course on black bear behavior, lifestyle, predatory tactics and history would hold up to a true blue man of letters. So, my publisher sent it and I held my breath.

And I am humbled and honored to share his review of the book here. This means a ton not only because I appreciate Steve’s writing so much, but the book holds up to his scientific chops:

“I loved Bear Brawl, and devoured it over the course of a few lazy summer afternoons. It’s a fun, fast-paced thriller for anyone who likes a good old-fashioned tale of man-versus-beast. But there is much more to this book that surprised me. I’m a scientist, and I read Bear Brawl for a bit of escapism, but one thing I couldn’t escape was how much science and nature shaped the story. Come for the adventure, and along the way you’ll stealthily learn about bears, landscapes, and ecosystems. You’ll even meet a strong scientist character, who keeps what might otherwise seem like an outrageous premise firmly in the grounds of reality. Jon Finkel has always been known for his unique writing style, simultaneously cerebral and testosterone-fuelled, and here he has outdone himself with the ultimate tale of brawn and brains.”

—Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh palaeontologist and New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and The Story of Birds

Wow. Even pasting that here means a ton. I know you’re going to love this book and it even passes the real science writer and paleontologist test! It would mean the world to me if you pre-ordered the book today. We’re in the final 2 months before publication and every single pre-order gives Bear Brawl more momentum and lets the literary world know these are the kinds of books we want to read.

Let them try to write those lame headlines that “guys don’t buy books” when Bear Brawl tops the charts! I appreciate you!

Let’s make this a bestseller together:

You can pre-order Bear Brawl on AMAZON HERE, or at BARNES & NOBLE HERE or at BOOKSHOP.ORG here. Or just visit BearBrawl.com and have fun finding out how you’d do in a fight with a bear!

Jon Finkel is the award-winning author of Macho Man: The Untamed, Unbelievable Life of Randy Savage, 1996: A Biography, Hoops Heist, The Life of Dad, Jocks In Chief, The Athlete, Heart Over Height, “Mean” Joe Greene and more. His books have been endorsed by everyone from Mark Cuban, John Cena and Tony Dungy to Spike Lee, Kevin Durant and Chef Robert Irvine. He has written for GQ, Men’s Health, Yahoo! Sports, The New York Times and has appeared on CBS: This Morning, Good Morning Texas, Good Morning Chicago, and hundreds of radio shows, podcasts and streams. Jon was recently profiled in The New Yorker about the awesome community he’s built around his Books & Biceps newsletter. They describe him as “a gym rat’s Reese Witherspoon”. Reply to this email for any media requests. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Midlife Male and a Top 10 US Masters Swimmer in the 50 and 100 butterfly.

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