| |  | Author: David Nevin
Creator: Dick Hill
Publisher: Paperback Nova Audio Books
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $3.95
You Save: $4.04 (51%)
New (1) Used (8) from $0.20
Avg. Customer Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 2755734
Format: Abridged, Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Edition: Abridged
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 1567401767
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781567401769
ASIN: 1567401767
Publication Date: June 1, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New Factory Sealed 2 Cassttes Immediate Shipping with CARE G1
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Jimmy loves Dolly, Andy loves Rachel, Win loves March 3, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sally. Joseph Loves Jenny etc.
This historical soap opera starts with a lots of tumescence then settles down to tell a true story.
The events are true, most of the characters are real. Most of the dialogue, the conversation are decidely not. No matter, as they serve to advance the history going on around them & the history that they are making.
There are several important venues: Washington D.C., Where President & Dolly Madison preside in the White House, Canada, northern New York & the Lake Champlain area where key naval battles are fought & the south particularly New Orleans, where General Andrew Jackson is making his name. The unabridged tape is long as is the book, but I was not bored. It is told like a novel rather than straight history.
This story is the coming out of America, more united than ever. The reasons for the war, trade & the impressment of American sailors was quickly resolved by the very act of war. However, the conclusion reached by many history books is that this was a useless war. In fact, it may not be much more than a footnote in the history of the British Empire. Bigger things were happening in Europe that overwhelmed the War of 1812 in interest.
The nation was expanding rapidly & several states had been admitted to the union west of the Appalachins. The ballance of power in the United States was moving west. Ironically the larger the country grew in size the more united, we became with a real sense of identity. The arrogance of the British in buring down the capitol for no military gain united Americans like no other single act could have.
The British could not have won. They were trying to defeat a continential nation. For what? Wellington, one of the greatest military leaders of all time knew this & said so. The British people were fed up with the taxes used to finance an unwinnable war.
For the United States, The War of 1812 proved the Revoltionary War now 30 years old. Jackson defeated British regulars soundly at New Orleans. The war was already over but they didn't know that. It still was important to note that the United States would have to be reckoned with in the future. Highly recommended.
Good history in a slightly melodramatic setting September 6, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The War of 1812 is rarely accorded the importance it deserves as a seminal event in America's history. It brought the U.S. to the forefront of world events and showed the willingness of Americans to defend their rights on the world stage. Nevin applies his knowledge of the event and its participants to the task of explaining the war's importance with mixed results. James Madison and his wife Dolly come off well as Nevein shows "Little Jimmy's" rising to the occasion bolstered by Dolly's fierce and loving determination. Winfield Scott comes to the forefront as a soldier who changes the way the U.S. looks at tactics, but serves, oddly, as a love interest for an imaginary character. Andrew Jackson gets a bit too much time as the raging lunatic who is calmed by his wife's gentle influence. I don't find fault so much with the presentation of Jackson as it took away from Madison and Dolly, who I found to be the more intriguing pair.
That being said, it is the battle scenes that really make this book one of interest. New Orleans has been discussed a multitude of times but Nevin makes it fresh and the battles on the Niagra frontier were vividly presented. Here Niven's obviously strong research truly comes to light. 1812 may be a novel but it is one of excellent insight, occasionally plagued by melodrama, but worth the time of any fan of this genre.
Best History Book I've Ever Read August 13, 2003
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is quite simply the best history book I've ever read, whether it's non-fiction, a textbook, or historical fiction (as this one is), regardless of the time period or country involved. The book goes very in-depth on the War of 1812 and hits you with constant facts, but you'll never be bored. It's all presented in story format with lots of dialogue that isn't really very stilted or different from our own. It sounds more like ours when we're just trying to sound good. The descriptive passages are exciting and easy to read.
Six main people make up the fabric of this novel: Pres. James and Dolly Madison are in Washington, D.C., running the country and throwing Dolley's famous political balls. The excitement as Dolley runs from the burning White House is tangible. Next, is Andrew and Rachel Jackson, first at home in Nashville, TN, and then with Andrew on the warfront. First, he battles the Seminole Indians in Florida and eventually takes on the British in New Orleans. Finally, Winfield Scott leads his troops in amazing land victories while getting occasional visits from his Washington girlfriend, the daughter of a newspaper magnate and the only main fictional character in the novel.
This book makes you realize, for the first time, what war truly is. It isn't dropping bombs from the air on nameless and faceless people. It's seeing your enemy eye-to-eye, and occasionally fighting him hand-to-hand for the sake of your country's survival, amid political turmoil and threat of secession. Remember: War is hell! This book is heaven!
Read this book!! You won't regret it. August 4, 2002
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I'm just going to keep this short and sweet: 1812 is a fabulous book! I read it over a year ago and I still rave about it to anyone who will listen!! My brother and I bought it as part of a gift for our father but he never got it because neither of us could put it down. We read it so many times the jacket is ruined. Whether you're a history buff, just someone who likes to read, or someone who wants to be reminded why they should be proud to be an American, you won't regret picking up this book. It is so down to earth, so real, and so vibrant you can't help but be moved by arguably the most important yet little remembered war in America's history, and the people who believed in America enough to win it against all odds. Beautiful book.
1812 April 8, 2002
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I truly enjoy reading about the colonial period of our nation and had considered myself to be quite well versed on the subject. This book however presented some interesting, and new to me, insight into the condition and feeling in the nation these few short years after the revolution. Highly recommend it.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
