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Title: The Naval War of 1812 by Theodore Roosevelt ISBN: 0-375-75419-9 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 04 May, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Three Cheers for America!
Comment: In a time when patriotism is passe, reading this book can redden the stuff in any American's veins. Our Navy's often-victorious battles against a superb and numerically superior foe ranks with the Athenian victory at Marathon in the annals of honor. Roosevelt was a natural storyteller and a first-rate scholar. Like JFK two generations later ("Why England Slept") this work was the product of a young twentysomething Harvard grad (JFK was actually a senior) that commanded serious attention nationally, and presaged a later rise to the summit of public life. Roosevelt's research is exhaustive, but not tedious, thanks to a vigorous prose style that carries the reader through a mass of detail without losing sail. The digression on which nationalities make the best seafarers would no doubt be considered un-PC today, but, as a general characterization of national characteristics, they arguably hold true. The author's final chapter, on the Battle of New Orleans, forshadows future policy, in that his criticism of the unreliability of the militia were embodied in the reforms that fully Federalized the National Guard, as the Dick Act of 1903. (Doubtless, his Spanish-American War experiences contributed to his desire to supplant the 1793 Militia Act, as well.) This book rests on my shelf, next to Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History," and O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin novels - as is fitting for an historical work written in the spirit of high adventure and studded with minute detail. -Lloyd A. Conway
Rating: 5
Summary: Roosevelt's inimitable style
Comment: This very well-written account, surprising from a youth of only 23, gives balanced portrayals of most of the major sea battles between the fledgling American navy, and the Lord of the Seas, Great Britain. In it, Roosevelt backs up his praise of American maritime ingenuity and the seaworthiness and discipline of its sailors with proofs, citations and cautious but sound reasoning. In each, diagrams of the engagements are provided, as well as other documented statistics, without overloading the reader with details, yet there are plenty of those. Roosevelt describes the handling of each ship and the actions of its captains with minute detail, without being, to the layman, purely technical. Although Roosevelt beats the patriotic drum, he also swings a corrective switch, against our commanders and our partisan historians, when their actions are faulty and objectionable -- a fact which underscores his fairmindedness and the authenticity of his rendering.
Rating: 2
Summary: Interesting But Tedious
Comment: Knowing that this book was written by Theodore Roosevelt makes it an important book regardless of the actual text. TR's influence on the strategic importance of seapower can be traced back to his feelings as a young author. The book itself was tedious and not very inspiring. It's interesting to glimpse the feelings of the young, strong, post-Civil War American writing the book. As far as a history of the War of 1812, you can do much better elsewhere.
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Title: The War of 1812 by Henry Adams, John R. Elting, Harvey A. Deweerd ISBN: 0815410131 Publisher: Cooper Square Press Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie by Gerard T. Altoff, Robyn Opthoff Lilek ISBN: 1887794034 Publisher: The Perry Group Pub. Date: August, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by A. T. Mahan ISBN: 0486255093 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 November, 1987 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Incredible War of 1812: A Military History by J. Mackay Hitsman, Donald E. Graves, Christopher, Sir Prevost ISBN: 1896941133 Publisher: Robin Brass Studio Pub. Date: September, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Winning of the West: From the Alleghenies to the Mississippi 1769-1776: With Map by Theodore Roosevelt, John Milton Cooper ISBN: 0803289545 Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $28.50 |
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