I couldn't finish it -- but I'm open to the idea that it's my fault, not the books.

It is well-researched and well written, but there's a tone of flippancy throughout, as if the author were certain he provided a book only for people who already know everything there is to know about the subject but who always enjoy another go. That tone set my teeth on edge and I gave up after several tries. ( )

Col. David Fitz-Enz begins this book by writing in the preface "It seems there is no time to set down and read a 300-page study about the life of a historic person, even though the reader would like to." So, he says, he's "condensed twenty-five of the fighting commanders under President Madison into one volume in hopes that once you have a complete grasp of this very complex tale of both sea and land, you will be driven to read more in depth about those who tweaked [sic] your interest."

Capsule biographies of a selection of American commanders in the War of 1812, ranging from the incompetent to the unlucky to the brave and intelligent. More of a reference book than anything else, without a narrative structure at all. The chapters include background on their subjects, and offer short analyses of the War of 1812 exploits, along with sometimes lengthy quotations (one of the oddities about this book is that block quotes appear in two different fonts; this apparently depends on whether the quote is the entire text of a letter or not).

It's unclear just how Fitz-Enz decided to organize the biographies: the first chapter covers Isaac and William Hull, then we get Andrew Jackson, followed by Oliver Hazard Perry. Each capsule biography takes us through that commander's role in the entire war, so there's much skipping back and forth chronologically as the book progresses. Again, though, if you were just using this to dip in and out of looking for a bit of something on a particular commander, or to glean some potentially useful footnotes from, I think this would do just fine. ( )

David Fitz-Eng provides a well-researched biographical history of the major commanders of the War of 1812. Each chapter summarizes the military campaigns of a specific leader or leaders. The book is an excellent reading supplem to histories of the War of 1812; however it does get a little bit dry in spots. (lj) ( )

An interesting book, based on the premise that all history is biography. In this case, this book brings together biographies of a number of American men involved in the War of 1812, and shows how they reacted to the conflict.

The title shows some of the judgements of the authors, but this judgement is also based on the author assuming he understood the motives of these men, rather than just judging them from their actions. I'm not sure I agree with him in his severities of judgement, and some times I feel he was exceptionally harsh.

Regretfully, this book is lacking in footnotes although it does have a good index and bibliography. However, the lack of footnotes also shows a desire to tell a good story rather than academic truth. The old Internet urban legend of brass monkeys used for holding cannonballs is included in an account of a Naval battle. Regretfully, this makes other statements suspect.

Aside from these nit-picks, the story does tell the biographies of some of the people known from this conflict, and for non-academic use, this is a good read. The author has a good style of writing that is informal, and the book is enjoyable on the whole. I just don't see it as a textbook for classes. ( )

This is a well written book which provides an overview introduction to the various characters who were influential in the War of 1812. Some military leaders were political appointees who knew nothing of war, some were schemers and swindlers out to make a buck, some were seeking adventure and hidden among the rest, there were some genuine heroes who saved the day on multiple occasions. This book provides the reader with a good understanding of the political wrangling which took place both before and during the war. It primarily details naval battles, with some mention to land battles.

This book is not a comprehensive chronology of the war. If a reader is unfamiliar with the war I would recommend they read other works first; this one might be confusing. There are short timeline sections at the end of each chapter, but they first and foremost outline the lives of the men described. Detailed snapshots are provided, with solid historical research, many primary sources are quoted from the men who saw these events first hand. ( )