THE INVASION OF CANADA, 1812-1813. by Berton, Pierre - 1980

Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1980. 363 pp, 9 3/4" H. Pictorial endpapers, maps/battle plans. Inscribed on title page: "Pierre Berton / To Leon with my best wishes / Aug '85". "To America's leaders in 1812, an invasion of Canada seemed the best way to bloody John Bull's nose. It would, as Thomas Jefferson confidently predicted, be 'a mere matter of marching'. How could a nation of eight million fail to subdue a struggling colony of 300,000? Yet, when the campaign of 1812 ended on the bloody banks of the River Raisin, the only Americans left on Canadian soil were prisoners of war. Three American armies had been forced to surrender, and the British were in control of all of Michigan Territory and much of Indiana and Ohio. Drawing on personal memoirs and diaries as well as official dispatches, the author has been able to get inside the characters of the men who fought the war - the common soldier as well as the generals. (C)owards and heroes, flawed generals and bumbling bureaucrats, traitors, loyalists, war profiteers, military incompetents and geniuses. (T)he War of 1812, or more properly the myth of the war, served to give the new settlers (of Upper Canada) a sense of community and set them on a different course from that of their neighbours. The Canadian way of life, says Berton, has its roots in the invasion of Canada." Light toning to fore-edge of text block. Dust jacket has very light edge wrinkling; two tiny edge tears archivally taped; light browning on spine, flap-folds, top 1" of panels and top edge of flaps; several tiny dents on front hinge.. Inscribed By Author. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good+.