The War of 1812: The War That Both Sides Won (The Illustrated Military History of Canada) |  | Author: Wesley B. Turner
Publisher: Dundurn Pr Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: $13.25
Buy Used: $3.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 6571142
Media: Paperback
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.3 x 0.3
ISBN: 1550020757
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.52
EAN: 9781550020755
ASIN: 1550020757
Publication Date: December 1990
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Product Description
Tragedy and farce, bravery and cowardice, intelligence and foolishness, sense and nonsense - all these contradictions and more have characterized the War of 1812. The real significance of the series of skirmishes that collectively made up the war between 1812 and 1814 is the enormous impact they have had on Canadian and American views of themselves and of each other. The publication of The War of 1812: The War That Both Sides Won in 1990 provided a contemporary look at the period, and included such developments as the 1975 discovery of the Hamilton and Scourge on the bottom of Lake Ontario, and the 1987 discovery of the skeletons of casualties at Snake Hill. Now, a decade later, Wesley B. Turner has updated The War of 1812 to include the volumes of new research that have come to light in recent years. All this new material has been incorporated into this interesting and informative overview of a crucial period in Canada's history.
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| Customer Reviews:
The War of 1812: a Primer November 28, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have read a few books on the War of 1812, and I would say this is the shortest but also the clearest of all those accounts. In his introduction, Turner explains that the book started life as a "textbook" for his university class. This genesis clearly shows through in the way the text is arranged. The prose is quite sparse while still giving the details of battles, leaders, geography, etc. It doesn't have the sheer readability and cleverness of a "people's history" like Pierre Burton's 2-volume set ("The Invasion of Canada" and "Flames Across the Border"), but it's certainly more scholarly and academic. Likewise, it doesn't contain the (sometimes excrutiating) detail of other academic works.
If you want to learn about the War of 1812 for the first time, this is the book to get.
Other things I liked about the book: (a) It puts the War of 1812 in the context of the larger world war that was raging around Napoleon Bonaparte's exploits. (b) It has an appendix on weapons that is useful. (c) It correctly emphasises the fate and plight of the Native Peoples involved. (d) It covers the political aspects from both sides. Unfortunately, there are a some things I didn't like. Primarily, there is the issue of readability - the text is a little dry, the drama never really comes to life. I also share the view of another viewer - it does read as being biased towards the Canadian/British side. Nonetheless, I would have liked for the book to have more detail, because I think Turner is on the right track - there is a need for a survey book of this type and what the book does, it does well.
 Good Overview August 25, 2002
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It works as a good overview. This is not the author's only book about this event, so I trust he knows his facts but I wouldn't be able to verify that. One small drawback is that the author assumes you know the location of certain places so you might become geographically lost at times. It was a quick read on the war which was all I was looking for.
 Bias all the way October 10, 2001
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book had some merit as a description of the War of 1812. While reading it though, it was impossible to escape the fact that it was written by a Canadian. The bias in this book was incredible, and often hid some of the points that needed to be made. I am not saying this as an American who only wants to read pro-American history, but this book became to biased to convey the facts the author was apparently trying to get across.
Good introduction to the War of 1812 May 8, 2000
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is a good overview of the war that does not get bogged down in extensive details pertaining to each individual battle. Those looking for a detailed analysis of the war may want to look elsewhere, but those who are more interested in the general events and the reason for the choices made during the war will likely be pleased with this. My only real qualm is that the book lacks good maps to accompany the descriptions of advances, retreats, etc. Overall though, anyone looking for a general explanation of the events of 1812 and especially the reasons why certain choices were made during the war will likely be pleased with this book.
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