1812

It was a glorious war and a magnificent age...An age that would decide whether America would grow into a vast global power, sweeping all the way to the Pacific or be broken, its divided pieces remaining small adjuncts to a mighty England. A war that would claim the breadth of the continent for America or cede that vast expanse to England and Spain.
Among the many men and women who would forge the future of our young nation's destiny were: James and Dolley Madison - Together they face the ultimate presidential decision: Should they take the nation into a war for which it isn't prepared? Andrew and Rachel Jackson - They speak for the West, for the frontier drive. Their enduring marriage gives Jackson the fortitude to dominate history in the battle that will determine our nation's future. Winfield Scott - The young soldier who takes us headlong into the battle that will define American Army professionalism for all time. Sally McQuirk - The daughter of a Washington publisher who is determined to cover the war as a journalist.
In their lives and loves, their hopes and fears, we live the thirty months of the war that shaped American destiny.

Ten bestselling authors have contributed blurbs to Nevin's second novel (after the bestselling Dream West, 1983)?among them fellow historical novelists Gary Jennings, James Michener and John Jakes. Nevin incorporates traits of all three in his re-creation of the War of 1812: Jennings's intense detailing, Michener's sweep and Jakes's passion for America all surface here at times, though what results is less a glorious work of historical art than an insistently intriguing animated tableau. The narrative can be terribly talky, especially in the beginning. An early scene in the White House featuring President James Madison and a visiting General Andrew Jackson, who wants to take Canada by force from Britain, crams enough political, military and cultural information into dialogue between the two to fill a history lesson?no surprise, since Nevin writes history books for the Time-Life series. Yet, in this very scene, Jackson and Madison, modeled with care, come to some sort of virtual life. As war begins between Britain and the U.S., culminating in the writing of the "Star Spangled Banner" and the burning of Washington, D.C., Nevin, helping himself with particularly vigorous battle scenes, conveys a kind of grandeur. This is, in essence, a patriotic pageant, but it's one crammed with color and captivating characters, and a good bet to follow in Dream West's footsteps as a TV miniseries. $150,000 ad/ promo; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A star-spangled banner of a follow-up to the historian- author's Dream West (1984) brings to vivid life a turning-point in American history. In a resonant narrative limning the sectionalism and discontents that threatened the young republic barely three decades after the revolution that created it, Nevin focuses on three central figures: President James Madison (sustained in crucial ways by his beloved Dolley); General Andrew Jackson (gentled as well as cherished by his Rachel); and Winfield Scott (a precocious military talent whose strong opinions bring him into frequent conflict with his colleagues). When events draw a deeply divided America into war with England, the wispy chief executive shows himself to be a principled man of strong convictions as he battles not only British armed forces but also recalcitrant New Englanders (whose lucrative trade with the erstwhile mother country has been disrupted), and states' rights frontiersmen like Jackson who distrust Madison's vision of the federal union's future. With emotional assistance from Dolley, the President manages to keep the ship of state on an even keel during a series of early setbacks in the War of 1812; concurrently, Scott learns the close-combat lessons that will lead to later victories along the Canadian border, and the volatile Jackson raises an army of irregulars who, defying the odds, mount successful campaigns in southern woodlands against Indian bands backed by the British. Before the tide turns, however, vengeful redcoats sack Washington, D.C., and raze the White House, forcing Madison and his government to flee. Bloodied but unbowed, the president rallies the nation, and Jackson stages an epic defense of New Orleans against British invaders at the start of 1815. A war- weary England agrees to peace, allowing a now-united America to pursue its manifest destiny in the West. A brilliantly realized chronicle that gives a human scale to the author's panoramic canvas. A considerable achievement and one that transcends genre. ($150,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This sprawling historical novel, with colorful characters ranging from Andrew Jackson to Winfield Scott, will certainly have some guaranteed appeal. Nevin's (Dream West, 1983) ability to sum up historical events in readable prose serves to bring to life a somewhat obscure corner of U.S. history, the War of 1812. Especially well executed are the battle scenes, which are narrated from the field and manage to retain a clear picture of the overall events. Nicely drawn maps of battles and troop movements lend an added air of authority and clarity to the proceedings. Some of Nevin's attempts to make full-blooded human beings of his characters?from Dolley and James Madison to Andrew and Rachel Jackson?by giving them a love life are less than effective. Still, this is recommended wherever there is interest in historical fiction.
-?David Glenn Dodd, Univ. of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Nevin's latest historical novel of early America, 1812, exhibits the best characteristics of the genre: it informs without oversimplifying the subject. Entertaining and very illuminating, Nevin subtly brings to life the War of 1812 and the most prominent personalities of the era: James and Dolley Madison, Winfield Scott, Sally McQuirk, Aaron Burr, Daniel Webster, and many more. Nevin provides an intricate account of Anglo-American relations at the time, with extensive details about trade, geography, and military matters. Military history is his forte; Nevin saves his most colorful writing for American skirmishes with the British. Nevin's previous novel, Dream West, became a prime-time miniseries, and in many ways 1812 seems to have been written with the small screen in mind. Nevin pulls no punches when it comes to personal intrigue and sex. There is plenty of salty talk between characters, and at times the dialogue smacks more of Jackie Collins than of Jane Austen. It doesn't detract from the book as a whole; 1812 is a substantive work. Ted Leventhal