The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies Paperback – Illustrated, 4 Oct. 2011

An extremely well researched and written book which examines the underlaying reasons behind the grab for Canada in 1812. All aspects of the war are covered from it's causes, military engagements and personalities involved which led to a 'as you were stalemate in 1814' which was essentially a defeat for the fledgeling United States, which achieved none of the goals ostensibly given for initiating the conflict and suffered the indignity of having it's capital Washington invaded and burned.

Excellent stuff

Just brilliant! A most refreshing perspective on the War of 1812. Great to read the story from "the other" perspective. Buy it - you'll be delighted you did.

The publication was a great read and worthy of 4 stars but the book itself was in poor condition and not as advertised. It had obviously been dropped in water at some point and dried out misshapen with spine and pages twisted. Not a book to put on the library shelf.

Arrived damaged within box that looked like it had been thrown around. Other items in delivery also damaged.

Personally not impressed. Didn't flow in its narrative as I might have expected.

The War of 1812 is the American war that people know the least about. This book provides a deep-dive into the origin and execution of the war although it focusses almost exclusively on the events along the US - Canadian border. What the book does well is to tell the stories of the diverse collections of individuals involved in the war and, by doing so, it helps the reader understand the complexity of motivations and attitudes towards the war. Its detailed explanations of battles and campaigns leaves you shaking your head at how ineptly the US managed this war. It also documents the horrible exploitation and betrayals of the Indian tribes caught up in the war. The weakness of the book is that by telling the story of so many individuals, it is difficult for the reader to keep track of who is being discussed and which side they were on. The book is recommended for people interested in both American and Canadian history.

アランテイラーのとらえ方、描き方がうまい。アメリカ研究者には必読の一冊。長いけどね

Alan Taylor seems to be a perennial finalist for the Pulitzer Prize thanks to his outstanding narrative works of historical research. This book seems in many ways to be a continuation of his 2006 work, The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderlands of the American Revolution. I was engrossed in this book from the beginning and it has further confirmed my belief that Taylor is one of America’s finest historians. The book is not about the entire War of 1812, but rather in keeping with Taylor’s focus on the events of an era on a relatively small area. In this case, The Civil War of 1812 focuses on the area of western New York and Upper Canada. Adjacent areas play a role in the book, but only as far as how events there impacted the region Taylor focused on. At first I didn’t realize what Taylor was doing, but it makes sense. Often a historical narrative focuses on a much broader topic and in the process dilutes the impact of an event in a given area. Taylor’s work narrows the area down which allows him to direct the focus of his research with a greater intensity. The result is a deep history which is often missing in historical fields. Taylor would follow up this work with his 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning narrative, The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832. The deeper research is challenging some long held historical assumptions about the War of 1812. I highly recommend this work to scholars of the period and to scholars who explore US history from the Revolution to the Civil War. I tell my students that the present is obviously shaped by the past, but in ways that few understand. When they understand why things today are the way they are, they have a greater understanding of the historical process and can use that understanding to help them make decisions about the future. Taylor’s microhistory is a great example of how historians can help people learn about the past beyond a cursory glimpse. The focus on Western New York and Upper Canada reveal the similarities and differences between the people who lived in that region during the war. His focus on how the war began and what took place afterward explain a great deal about why things occurred like they did. His claim that it was a civil war is validated throughout the book by the events that took place. The burning of homes and villages, the plundering and outright theft of possessions, and the switching of sides revealed the divisions created by the conflict. While other histories focus on the ineptitude of the American government during the conflict, Taylor’s work shows how that ineptitude created the inability of the Americans to sustain occupation of Canadian territory. This goes a long way to explain why the Americans failed to conquer Canada when by all rights they should have due to superior numbers between Americans and Canadians. Again, I highly recommend this book. I don’t think I can really say enough about it. I would have liked to have seen a bit more exploration on the naval events that took place on the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Erie, but the microhistory was not directed to those events. I feel this was something that in my opinion hurt the overall narrative. Other than that, the focus on Upper Canada and Western New York really brought out the personal nature of the war for the people in the region.

A fascinating overview of the social and economic conditions that lead up to the war. After reading this book its easy to understand the famous american quote that it was a "mere matter of marching " to conquer Upper Canada. I considered myself a subject matter expert on the war, but realized how much I had missed until I read this book. Very well reasearched and documented and a balanced perspective for both sides. No one can understan the war until they have the perspective and context this book provides

Dieses Buch konzentriert sich hauptsächlich auf die Kriegsgeschehnisse an der amerikanisch-kanadischen Grenze mit besonderem Augenmerk auf die beinah bürgerkriegsähnlichen Zustände zwischen US-Amerikanern und Kanadiern, welche damals noch sehr viel enger verflochten waren als heutzutage.Es werden nicht einfach nur 'Schlachten' abgehandelt, sondern das Buch strotzt nur so von Zitaten, Briefauszügen und Augenzeugenberichten.Es behandelt auch sehr genau die (aus heutiger Sicht unglaublichen) Zustände in Armee und Miliz; insbersondere der amerikanischen - aber auch die Gegebenheiten in der britischen Armee und bei den jeweils verbündeten Indianern (die eigentlichen Verlierer des Krieges) werden interessant und ausführlisch geschildert.Der ebenfalls interessante und wichtige Seekriegsschauplatz wird fast komplett vernachlässigt, dafür bekommt man aber einen sehr guten Einblick in die Entstehung dieses 'vergessenen' Krieges, was aber für mich bedeutete, dass ich mich durch die ersten 100+ Seiten doch ein wenig 'durchkämpfen' musste.Bei der Detailfülle verwundert es nicht, dass der Quellenteil am Ende des Buches fast fingerdick ist.Wie gesagt, ein eher spezieller Beitrag zu diesem sinnlosen Krieg, nach dessen Ende man praktisch den 'status quo ante bellum' wieder herstellte....nur die Indianer des kanadisch-amerikanischen Grenzgebietes blieben dabei mehr oder weniger auf der Strecke.Für mich nach etwa Seite 100 sehr spannend und informativ lesbar.