Will they ever write a book that tels the proper story of this war! (Rating 3 of 5)
» Ian Fieldhouse
Let's put these points right first, The Americans got nothing out of this war not even the issues they went to war for were given to them, Britain got to retain Canada, all fishing rights, all sea rights including still stopping Yankee ships to search for deserters, they burned the white house down and won far more victories them the America's could dream about. All at a time when we were fighting for our lives against France and Napoleon and his allies. The American army was driven out of Crown lands 10 times and they did not control any of the British territories at the end of the war. This is embarrassing to say the least!
All they can go on about is one battle when the war ended, a fire and light show that gave birth to there national anthem, and a lake battle of old ships, the truth. Yet again propaganda for the American masses. Sad really. This could have been a good book, but agin came up short, money talks truth does not.
Honest and v readable history (Rating 5 of 5)
» R. J. Hedley
This is the first British account of the Anglo - American war of 1812 written fot a long time. It was very readable and honest. It clearly sets out to change the opinion of the war (largely American - it is even less well known outside of America) as another War Of Independence and a conflict that was a clear American victory against British aggression. The author shows that the war was started by the Americans and their aims to improve their naval / sailors rights and to grab land of Canada were both failures. The British got v little out of the war either - apart from a lot of casualties and a lot of debt. The Americans put up some pretty stuiff resistance against the British and Canadians - Britain herself was embroiled in the latter stages of the Napoleonic War at the time - a conflict that must have seemed like a 20th century world war. The author puts the War of 1812 in the much wider contect of the Napoleonic Wars and treats it as an interesting sideshow to that event. The American navy did particularly well against its much more powerful adversary.
Up to now I have read several books on the War of 1812 - all I beleive written by Americans - some general books on the entire conflict and one about the British defeat at New Orleans. This book has redressed the balance that I got from these books which tended to hero worship the Americans - particularly the futurer President Andrew Jackson who comes across in this book as not altogether pleasant and a bit of a war monger.
This is a great book and I hope it is read by a lot of Napoleonic / War of 1812 ehthusiasts.
(Rating 3 of 5)
(Rating 5 of 5)
