Neither Victor, Nor Vanquished ― America in the War of 1812

Weber subjects the two dominant narratives of the War of 1812, "Mr. Madison's War" and the "Second War of Independence", to stress testing and finds them both wanting. He presents two alternatives, the first focusing on the "Jefferson Revolution", and the second depicting the War of 1812 as America's first war of expansion, and spotlights the rise of Andrew Jackson. He then feeds both new narratives through the prisms of Thucydides and Sun Tzu. Since the federal government was in its infancy at that time, he looks at the pertinent state governors, their input and actions. He presents other perspectives and possible what-if scenarios, and finally posits that the country would have unfolded in a different manner minus the War of 1812. He aims to rescue the conflict from its usual resting place--relative obscurity--and to highlight military performance and political leadership, and its influence on the course of future events. There are nine chapters, from the need for new narratives to what if the War of 1812 had never occurred. The book particularly targets military historians, but with its clarity and conciseness, would be accessible to general readers as well. There is a chronology, notes, bibliographic notes and sources, about the author, and a list of illustrations (figures and maps). Potomac Books is an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)