The War of 1812 Paperback – September 28, 1999

I just finished the book and as yet I have never read a book that paid such attention to detail as this one. The letters, the speeches the correspondence available in this book is second to none and were very interesting to say the least. The book does shoot off from time to time, it doesn't follow in line with events as it happened, but its all informative nonetheless.My only issue with this book is that it omits the causes of the war of 1812, which was what I really wanted to know. The book starts with the first invasion as it may be said and goes on from there. Its really astounding at the amount of mistakes that were made in this war by the administration, especially on land, in the beginnings of the war and the unfortunate burning of Washington. And Adams is quick to add some humor in poking fun at the inconsistencies of the administration during this time.I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in an extensive history of the war itself, most notably someone who is deeply interested in military history for it is very specific.

The War of 1812 by Henry Adams is part of a larger work by the same about the Jefferson and Madison Administrations. In this regard it is important to remember that Henry Adams is directly descended from John Adams and John Quincy Adams, who were political rivals to Jefferson and Madison.This book is written from the viewpoint of a diplomatic and political expert and so the descriptions of the various battles are heavy with the implications for the politicians involved.The book contains sketches and maps of the battles and geographical locations where the conflict took place. The sketches are interesting as they are made by the engineers and cartographers involved in the fighting and they reflect the geographical knowledge at the time.Most especially interesting is the account of the war at sea. Adams writes in-depth about the opposing ships of the Royal and US Navies and has great insight on the activities of privateers.For serious scholars of The War of 1812, this is the first book one should read. It is well written with a cool, ironic detachment throughout.

This book is an excellent source of information about the war, from the American point of view. Adams provides a detailed look behind the scenes of the American military and political aspects of the war. He does have his biases, but I found that they are easy to identify and in no way took away from the body as a whole. (In my opinion, all historians have biases and it is refreshing to see one that doesn't try to say otherwise.)I highly recommend this book along with other 1812 histories like the books by MacKay Hitsman(Canadian) and Jon Latimer(English).

Wonderful description of the travesty that was the War of 1812-15. I learned more than I ever knew about that episode in our history; and, the incompetent bureaucrats involved (not much different than today's Washington). Only downside, for me, was too much description of armament on-board ships of the day.

It is amazing that the US survived this conflict. The author's clear depiction of the politics and generalship (or lack thereof)leaves you wondering how the US ever made it out of this conflict relatively intact. This work is taken from Henry Adams great history that was originally published around 1890. The chapters relevant to the war of 1812 have been compiled to form a fine and detailed account of the war with Britain and Canada.My only request for improvement would be the addition of an introduction that gives a clearer picture of the reasons for the conflict.

Such an interesting book available thanks to the Commandant of the US Infantry School who in 1944 got permission to extract the story of the War of 1812 from Henry Adam's huge History of the United States. It reveals the problems the Federal Government had funding the War and establishing a competent army and navy.

Ponderous and disjointed reading and difficult to relate one historical event to another; there must be something, somewhere, that would be more informative and interesting.

Honestly, it was a pretty boring book in my opinion. Others may have liked it but I found it tedious to read.