Henry Clay and the War of 1812

It is very thoroughly researched. I was amazed all the things that Henry Clay did. It would definitely be great material for research papers on Henry Clay. It is not a book to casually read but amazing documentary on Henry Clay.

Excellent Book More than I Expeced

This 2014 book is a very detailed account of Henry Clay's life from birth to 1815. I read it even though I have read three other biographies of Clay (one by Van Deusen read 12 July 1969; one by Robert V. Remini on 30 June 1993, and the one by David Heiler et ux on 5 Feb 2011). None of these biographies are listed in the bibliography in this book, which bibliography lists mostly 19th century books. One gets the idea that the author of this book tried to determine every thing that that anybody recorded that Clay did in the years from his birth to 1815, and that was a crowded time for Clay even though so much of his fame is due to what happened to and with him after 1815. He was a U. S. Senator before he was 30 (never mind that the Constitution requires a Senator to be 30 years old!) and when he began his service in the U.S. House of Representatives he was at once elected Speaker--a position that no other person has ever attained upon beginning service in the House, except I suppose the first Speaker. The book is thoroughly reearched and tells all one could hope to know about Clay for the years covered by the book. One stands agape with admiration over the ability of Clay and his co-peacecommissioners at Ghent (so clearly more able than the British negotiators). The book even has the text of the Treaty, which has only 11 articles and does not mention the impressment issue, which was the primary cause of the war. Wisely, the American negotiators determined it was unnecessary to say anything about that in the treaty and its omission was of no diservice to the US. This is a fine book and I was glad to read it and anyone interested in one of the truly great Americans of the 19th century or in the War of 1812 should be enthalled by it.