1812: The War That Forged a Nation Book

For the most part this is an interesting and entertaining history of the War of 1812. The best parts are those describing the various naval battles, as well as Andrew Jackson's campaigns and victories. I did have a problem with the author's very questionable version of John Marshall's role in Aaron Burr's treason trial during the early chapters; in fact, I felt the whole Aaron Burr situation was rather sloppily handled and not entirely accurate. But that was a minor portion of the book. For the most part, this is a serviceable and highly readable recount of the War of 1812, a war that really did not need to be fought and was poorly prosecuted by the Madison administration. In fact, Madison and Jefferson both deserve more of a drubbing than they get in this book. The author seeks to find some justification in hindsight for this foolish war by asserting at the end that its overall effect was to forge a stronger nation, making us one republic versus a union of sovereign states. Perhaps, but I feel a stronger case could be made that John Marshall as chief justice of the Supreme Court, in triumphing over his struggles with the seditious Thomas Jefferson, probably had a much greater role in determining the structure and character of our constituted government. Maybe the war accomplished this in the hearts and minds of the citizens, which, of course, would be a determining factor, too. Anyway, at times I felt like this was more of a 3 star book, but like most Borneman books, it's fun to read, so I gave it 4.