Sunday, March 31, 2013

“When Washington Burned: An Illustrated History of the War of 1812” by Arnold Blumberg. The publisher is Casemate Publishing.


One of the least known wars in United States or for that matter British history is the War of 1812.


The War of 1812 was a rather disorderly event. At times it had several minor campaigns going on at the same time. They weren't coordinated, were hundreds of miles apart and had little or nothing to do with the other campaigns.


The author has produced an understandable account out of this disjointed war. His narrative is well organized. The structure used has each chapter covering a distinct area. They are restricted to a geographic area.  The genius of this approach is let you keep needed focus without covering everything happening on all fronts at the same time. The coverage of the Naval engagements is excellent. They receive their separate chapters.


The illustrations are first-rate. The majority of the images are present-day. He makes skillful use of maps to show the more intricate campaigns. This is an excellent single volume history of the War of 1812. It explains what happened. It explains why it happened. The coverage is balanced with US and British material. The book would be an great addition for community libraries, school libraries and is a must for the personal library of military historians. It would also make a nice “coffee table book”.


Arnold Blumberg and Casemate Publishing have provide a well needed, quality book on the War of 1812.

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