FLAMES ACROSS THE BORDER: 1813-1814 by Pierre Berton - 1981

Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1981. 1st Edition?, 1st Printing? . Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. 492 page hardcover, includes illustrated endpapers, a lot of maps, and an Index. "'I have tried to tell not only what happened but also WHAT IT WAS LIKE,' Pierre Berton writes of his engrossing account of the war that shaped modern Canada. In this second volume, dealing with the campaigns of 1813 and 1814, we meet again some of the fascinating characters who enlivened THE INVASION OF CANADA, the author's narrative of the first year of the War of 1812...Once again, Pierre Berton has drawn on contemporary accounts, diaries, letters, and memoirs to recapture the feel, the smell, the sound and the horror of a half-forgotten war. The reader travels down the St. Lawrence with the flawed American general, James Wilkinson, in his attempt to seize Montreal; stands on the deck of Perry's blood-soaked flagship during the Battle of Lake Erie; struggles in the pitch blackness at Lundy's Lane; trudges through the mud of Crysler's Farm. Here is the border in flames - Toronto's first parliament buildings on fire; Niagara-on-the-Lake burned to the ground; Buffalo in ashes; even Washington put to the torch. Here, too, is Canada at the crossroads, opting for the British colonial way of life instead of the American way....The present border is a legacy of the War of 1812. So, to a great extent, are the political institutions and social attitudes that separate us from the Americans. This book helps explain why we are a distinctive people and how this bloody and often foolish war made us that way." Excellent copy: spine square/TINY bit of fading at head, one TINY black dot at lower edge of page block (I'll assume it's a remainder mark) else the book is entirely as new (pages white) with NO markings throughout. The dj's spine is a little faded/slight bumping at head/heel with a couple TINY chips at head, one short horizontal scratch on front, a few closed edgetears and some faint creasing near lower edge of back else it's in excellent condition, also, and attractive. NOT an ex-library, NOT a book club, dj NOT price-clipped ("$24.95"). Fine in Near Fine dj.