Bud Hannings' War of 1812: A Complete Chronology is an excellent reference work to have at hand when reading or studying about the War of 1812. It gives a day-by-day account of events happening during the war and events leading up to it, as well as bios of major and minor leaders. It is not a book that one would sit down and read cover to cover, but it is not designed to be that - it is one to keep on the reference shelf. My major complaint is the lack of citations as to sources. ( )

Thw war of 1812 is a completely, thorough in all ways, recounting of all the events that made up the war. The chronology covers everything - including the run-up to the war, starting in 1803, and runs through 1816. It's a dense book, and I wouldn''t recommend trying to read it cover to cover, instead reading bits and pieces and enjoying it over a period of time. My only complaint is the triple column formatting which makes it a nuisance to read. All in all, a great resource covering a war that often gets neglected. ( )

Bud Hannings' The War of 1812, a comprehensive chronology of events from 1803 through 1816, is a handsome volume of solid and interesting factual details. I found the introduction which covers world events in the years leading up to this time period to be particularly interesting; and the line drawings make this an attractive and classy book. It's not one that I would ever attempt to read cover to cover, not least because of the tiny print, but I have enjoyed opening the book at random and reading about events of that day. A highly recommended reference for everyone. ( )

Hanning's The War of 1812 is a reference volume that provides a day by day account of newsworthy activity starting with preliminary events as far back as 1803 and ending with Indiana's 1816 admission to the union. Included are biographies of 63 generals and prominent colonels. Oddly missing are some pretty prominent admirals, however. Since intrusion of British sea power at the expense of American sovereignty was among the prime causes of this war, the omission is curious indeed.

Major engagements are illustrated by often hard to read maps. Text is encyclopaedic in nature, Hanning offers no commentary or opinion of his own. This book is a useful accompaniment to other books on the subject, and it would have been useful when I was doing research for wargames based on this conflict. Fortunately, this book arrived just as was reading another book on the War of 1812, and I enjoyed using it as a companion. By itself its a little dry, but if you need to dig deeper while reading a narrative history on the subject, this is a nice book to have. ( )

The War of 1812 by Bud Hannings is a solid reference work, with enough extra details to satisfy any War of 1812 buff. Hannings provides almost 300 pages of a daily, detailed chronology of the war beginning in 1805. His narrative for each entry is concise, obviously informed and consistently readable.

This book isn't merely a catalog of the battles. Hannings of course gives finely detailed accounts of the land and naval conflicts. He also gives a clear exposition of the political and diplomatic elements of this so-called "Second War of Independence." The interests and involvement of Canada, Native Americans, France and Spain are described in enough detail to give the reader a good international context for the theater of operations and alliances of the combatants.

The War of 1812 is a good book for a casual reader who wants to explore that era, and a good reference for those who are already familiar with this episode in American history.

A tiny reservation: Hannings writes his chronology in the present tense, this annoys me but I understand that it's my problem.

The book also contains:

Biographies of 63 general officers who served during the war, 49 pages
Appendix A: Listing of about 350 generals (both U.S. Army and militia) of the war era
Appendix B: President James Madison's War Message to Congress, June 1, 1812
Appendix C: Listing of Prizes of American Privateers and Vessels Under Letters of Marque
Appendix D: Proclamation of General William Hull to the People of Canada, July 12, 1812
Appendix E: General Isaac Brock's Response to General Hull's Proclamation, July 22, 1812
Appendix F: Thomas Boyle's Proclamation
Extensive bibliography and index

Read more on my blog: http://barleyliterate.blogspot.com/ ( )