Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence

By A.J. Langguth

Book Overview

The author of the acclaimed Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution presents this dramatic account of the War of 1812, the war that established a young nation as a permanent power and proved its claim to Manifest Destiny. Maps.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743226186
• ISBN13: 9780743226189
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 482 Pages
• Weight: 1.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Among the Best on this Era

Langguth's "Union: 1812" is among the best treatises on this incredibly complex era of our history... and era that relatively few people are very familiar with. Any work on this era - except for some weighty, unreadable tome - mustneeds make some compromising decisions in order to keep the story moving while still doing justice to the many social and political elements within which it all took place, and which are all exceedingly important to the understanding of events. Likely there is no single book that can impart the sum total of the era but this one will give even the casual reader a digestible but meatly portrait of the fast-moving events at the beginning of 19th Century USA.

Fantastic Read

I would recommend this to anyone who isn't terribly familiar with the events surrounding the War of 1812. They can dive into it and get caught up quickly. It's also great for those who already have a good knowledge of this era. Very well written and thoroughly enjoyable.

Great Historian

This author makes History alive!!!! The Story behind the story. I just bought his Third book on Vietnam.

A Little Known Part of American History

I found this book very informative and hard to put down when reading it. It fills a part of US history about which little is written. It shows that even though the names and parties change, the political infighting and intense dislike of political leaders was the same then as it is today. This book gives insight into the writing of the US Constitution and events leading up to the War of 1812 by looking at the political leaders and Presidents of the era. It looks at the war in depth and then gives a short fast look at the aftermath leading up to the Civil War. I recommend this book for those looking for more on the birth and development of this nation.

Very enjoyable read on a long under reported subject

This book has many of the same quirks as Lagguth's previous book Patriots (it does tend to be gossipy and jump around) but don't let that stop you from reading about one of the most fascinating period's in American history. Traditional sources tend to write as if the Revolutionary War was finished and the country bounced along until the Civil War. A.J. Langguth proves that the first years of American Independence were trying and difficult and while the results were amazingly successful there was a great deal of anguish we were proceeding down the wrong path. This book is fascinating and engrossing and well worth your time if you're a student of the path's less travelled in American History.